iSBOBmiSmBi^xamiattaBamtmtnmwimTvmtanMnmz 


University  of 
Massachusetts 

Amherst 


I     B      R 


R      Y 


''Our  County  and  Its  People'* 


*'#ur  Countp  anti  Its  people 


tt 


A  History  0/ 
HAMPDEN   COUNTY 

Massachusetts 


editor 

Alfred  Minot  Copeland 

President  of  Connecticut    Valley   Historical   Society   and   President   of 
Springfield  Geological  Club 


Polume  ^m 

The  Century  Memorial  Publishing  Company 
1902 


Copyrighted  1902 

BY 

Alfred  Minot  Copel.vnd 


JL1BRARY_ 

UNWERSITY  OF 
MASSA^HJSEHS 

AMHERSl  MASS. 


To 

Marcus  Perrin  Knowlton 

ONE   OF    HAMPDEN    COUNTY'S 
MOST    HONORED    SONS 

This    volume    is    respectfully 

2Df  dicated 


to 

C3^ 


CD 


ALFRED  M.  COPELAND 

President  of  the  Connecticut  Valley  Historical  Society  & 
President  of  Springfield  Geological  Club 

Sluti)or!S 

JAMES  CARRUTHERS  GREENOUGH,  LL.  D.,  WILLIAM  ORR, 
JAMES  L.  BOWEN,  MARSHAL  CALKINS,  A.M.,  M.T).,  ETHAN 
BROOKS,  HENRY  L.  HINES,  ALFRED  M.  COPELAND,  LYMAN  N. 
CLARK,  CHARLES  L.  YOUNG,  LEWIS  C.  ALDRICH,  ORRIN  P. 
ALLEN,  GEORGE  E.  FULLER,  M.D.,  JOHN  H.  CARMICHAEL,  M.D. 

LOUIS   TESSON 

(OHitore 

CHARLES  L.  GARDNER,    EDWIN   L.   KIRTLAND 

FREDERICK  W.   CHAPIN,  M.D. 

GEORGE  S.  STEBBINS,  M.D.,    CHARLES  P.  HOOKER,  M.D. 

THEODORE   F.   BRECK,  M.D. 


"Preface 


A  SEARCH  of  the  catalogues  and  the  shelves  in  the 
large  public  libraries  of  Boston  discloses  the  fact 
that  the  eastern  counties  of  Massachusetts  are  pro- 
vided with  good  separate  histories,  while  our  own  Hamp- 
den County,  as  important  from  a  commercial  point  of  view 
and  far  more  historic  than  many  of  those  east  of  us,  can- 
not boast  anything  of  a  general  historical  character  worthy 
of  mention. 

In  preparing  this  work  it  has  been  the  chief  aim  to 
present  to  the  citizens  of  this  county  a  reliable  and  care- 
fully prepared  historical  record;  a  work  that  shall  properly 
reflect  the  men  and  the  times  in  all  generations  of  the  past ; 
a  work  that  shall  be  free  from  the  objectionable  features 
that  too  often  bring  honest  history  into  disrepute;  and  a 
work  of  which  our  people  may  feel  proud  rather  than  one 
for  which  we  are  called  upon  to  apologize. 

Feeling  the  actual  need  of  such  a  work,  I  undertook 
to  stand  as  chief  controlling  editor  of  a  comprehensive 
three-volume  history  of  Hampden  county,  to  be  called 
"  Our  County  and  Its  People,"  and  to  this  end  have  di- 
rected my  best  energies  until  the  task  is  finally  completed. 
The  public  will  judge,  and  judge  justly,  if  this  work  has 
been  well  done.  It  has  been  no  easy  task  to  find  men  in 
the  different  towns  of  the  county  properly  qualified  and 
willing  to  write  the  local  town  histories.  To  some  extent 
we  have  found  such  men,  and  their  work  has  been  well 
done.  It  is  extremely  difficult  to  obtain  every  important 
fact    touching    the    history    of  towns    that    within    the   last 


X  PREFACE 

tifty  years  have  not  only  lost  many  of  their  most  impor- 
tant citizens  and  with  them  valuable  historic  facts  of  which 
no  records  have  been  left,  but  whose  places  are  now  occu- 
])ied  by  people  not  of  their  kin,  and  in  no  way  interested 
in  the  town's  former  inhabitants.  In  preparing  the  present 
work  we  have  earnestly  endeavored  to  obtain  all  the  im- 
portant local  facts,  and  to  make  the  histories  of  the  differ- 
ent towns  as  complete  as  possible. 

We  made  earnest  effort,  and  with  fairly  good  results, 
to  obtain  brief  ancestral  records  of  all  families  identified 
with  the  history  and  the  development  of  Hampden  county. 
There  was,  for  the  most  part  a  generous  response  to  our 
effort  in  this  respect;  and  we  present  a  reasonably  full, 
but  not  so  complete  a  record  as  was  hoped. 

A.  M.  C. 


Contents 


CHAPTER   I 

GEOLOGY  OF  HAMPDEN  COUNTY 


CHAPTER  II 
DISCOVERY  AND  OCCUPATION 

Early  European  Discoveries  in  America — The  French  in  Canada — 
The  Dutch  in  New  York — The  English  in  Virginia — The  Puri- 
tans in  New  England — Three  European  Powers  Claim  Sover- 
eignty over  the  Territory  Comprising  Massachusetts — Over- 
throw of  the  Dutch  in  the  Netherlands — Struggle  for  Suprem- 
acy between  the  French  and  the  English — End  of  the  French 
Dominion    14 

CHAPTER   III 

THE    INDIANS 

French  and  Jesuit  Influence  Among  the  Indians — The  New  England 
Missionaries — Location  and  Probable  Origin  of  the  New  Eng- 
land Tribes — The  Connecticut  River  Indians — Their  Habits 
and  Characteristics — Efforts  to  Establish  Education  and 
Christianity  Among  the  Tribes — Dutch  Settlers  sell  them  Guns 
and    Rum 20 

CHAPTER  IV 
COLONIZATION    AND    SETTLEMENT 

English  Colonization  and  Settlement  in  America — The  Plymouth 
and  London  Companies — Landing  of  the  Pilgrims — Distress  in 
the  Colony — Massasoit's  Generosity — Accessions  to  the  Colony 
— Plantations  Founded  in  the  Connecticut  Valley — The  Colony 
at  Agawam — Springfield  Founded — Independent  Government 
for  the  Connecticut  River  Plantations — Springfield  returns  to 
Massachusetts  Jurisdiction — Four  Counties  Incorporated — 
Springfield   not  Included 27 


xii  CONTENrS 

CHAPTER  V 

STRUGGLES   WITH  THE  INDIANS 

Dissensions  among  the  Colonists' — Beginning  of  the  Indian  Troubles 
— The  Pequot  War — Narragansetts  Allied  to  the  English — 
Destruction  of  the  Pequots — An  Era  of  Peace  and  Prosperity — 
Militia  Companies  formed  in  the  Valley — Construction  of  Forti- 
fied Houses — Fort  Pynchon — Events  preceding  King  Philip's 
War — The  Outbreak — Nipmuck  Treachery  at  Brookfield.  The 
War  in  the  Connecticut  Valley — Burning  of  Springfield — West- 
field  twice  Attacked — The  Affair  at  Longmeadow — Decisive  Ac- 
tion by  the  Colonies — Indians  Driven  from  the  Valley — Death 
of  King  Philip— End  of  the  War 38 

CHAPTER   VI 

COLONIAL  WARS 

From  the  close  of  King  Phillip's  War  to  the  End  of  the  French 
Dominion — Indians  ask  to  be  Restored  to  their  Former  Pos- 
sessions in  the  Connecticut  Valley — King  William's  War — 
Indian  Depredations  of  the  Frontier — Queen  Anne's  War — 
Treaty  of  Utrecht — Trouble  with  the  Abenaquis — Father 
Rasle  and  Woronoak — War  again  Declared  Between  England 
and  France — Treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle — War  Resumed — The 
Hampshire  County  Regiment  at  Lake  George — Troops  Assem- 
bled at  Springfield — End  of  the  War — Treaty  of  Paris 57 

CHAPTER  VII 

WAR    OF    THE    REVOLUTION 69 

CHAPTER   VIII 

THE  INSURRECTION  OF  1786-7— THE  SHAYS  REBELLION 86 

CHAPTER   IX 

THE  WAR  OF  1812-1815 100 

CHAPTER  X 
COUNTY    ORGANIZATION 108 

CHAPTER   XT 

HAMPDEN  COUNTY  CIVIL   LIST 124 


CONTENTS  xiii 

CHAPTER  XII 

INTERNAL    IMPROVEMENTS 152 

CHAPTER  XIII 

INTERNAL    IMPROVEMENTS— RAILROADS 175 

CHAPTER   XIV 

CONNECTICUT  RIVER  NAVIGATION 188 

CHAPTER  XV 
HAMPDEN  COUNTY  IN  THE  WAR  OF  1861-1865 198 

CHAPTER  XVI 

EDUCATION  IN  HAMPDEN  COUNTY ,.  .  .    232 

CHAPTER  XVII 

STATE    NORMAL    SCHOOL,    WESTFIELD 264 

CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE  HAMPDEN  BENCH  AND  BAR 293 

CHAPTER  XIX 

THE   MEDICAL   PROFESSION 338 

CHAPTER  XX 
THE  DENTAL  PROFESSION 390 

CHAPTER  XXI 

THE    PRESS    OF    HAMPDEN    COUNTY— ITS    HISTORY    AND 

DEVELOPMENT    416 

CHAPTER  XXII 

FREE  MASONRY  AND  ODD  FELLOWSHIP 464 

CHAPTER  XXIII 

AGRICULTURE  OF  HAMPDEN  COUNTY 499 


Illustrations 


FoKT  Pynchon   42 

A  Relic  of  the  Revolution   80 

Entrance  to  LT.  S.  Arimory  Grounds  82 

United  States  Watershops   84 

Outline  Map  of  Hampden  County  107 

The  First  Court  House 113 

Court  Square,  Springfield 118 

The  Second  Court  House  120 

Hampden  County  Court  House  122 

The  Boston  Stone  153 

Boston  and  Albany  Stage  Coach   160 

Old  South  Holyoke  Ferry  162 

The  Old  Toll  Bridge   167 

Chicopee  Bridge    169 

Willimansett  Bridge   172 

Old  B.  &  A.  Crossing,  Looking  North 176 

Old  B.  &  A.  Crossing,  Looking  South 179 

The  Arch,  B.  &  A.  Crossing 182 

A  Connecticut  River  View 193 

G.  A.  R.  Building,  Springfield 199 

Brig.-Gen.  Horace  C.  Lee,  Portrait    227 

First  Normal  School  Building,  1846  276 

Normal  School  Building,  1860   281 

Normal  School  Building,  1869 284 

Present  Normal  School  BmLDiNO  287 

Chief  Justice  Reuben  Atwater  Chapman,  Portrait   307 

George  Ashmin,  Portrait  315 

Oliver  B.  Morris,  Portrait  317 

WiLLiAir  B.  Calhoun,  Portrait    319 

William  G.  Bates,  Portrait  321 


xvi  ILL  USTRA  TIONS 

Col.  William  S.  Shurtleff,  Portrait  326 

Gov.  George  D.  Robinson,  Portrait  330 

Dr.  William  Tully,  Portrait   353 

Dr.  Thaddeus  K.  DeWolf,  Portrait   366 

Dr.  Henry  R.  Vaille,  Portrait 368 

Dr.  George  W.  Swazey,  Portrait  383 

Flavius  Searle,  D.  D.  S.,  Portrait 397 

First  Home  of  Springfield  Republican 426 

Samuel  Bowles,  Portrait  429 

JosiAH  Gilbert  Holland,  Portrait 431 

Ci^RK  W.  Bryan,  Portrait 436 

Henry  M.  Burt,  Portrait  440 

Phineas  L.  Buell,  Portrait  447 

Daniel  Reynolds,  Portrait   478 

George  W.  Ray,  Portrait   480 

Eliphalet  Trask,  Portrait    486 


CHAPTER  I 

GEOLOGY    OF    HAMPDEN    COUNTY 
BY  WILLIAM   ORR 

Any  consideration  of  the  geography  of  Hampden  county 
must  give  a  large  place  to  the  marked  physiographic  differences 
between  the  highland  and  lowland  areas.  In  Hampden  county 
the  valley  of  the  Connecticut  has  an  average  width  of  fifteen 
miles.  The  valley  is  bounded  on  east  and  west  by  steep  escarp- 
ments, the  boundaries  of  an  upland  plateau  with  an  elevation  of 
eight  hundred  to  nine  hundred  feet  above  the  valley  floor  and  of 
twelve  hundred  feet  above  the  sea. 

Very  striking  are  the  contrasts  between  the  highlands  and 
the  lowlands.  In  the  valley  there  is  formed  a  deep,  rich,  alluvial 
soil,  which  gives  a  basis  for  a  prosperous  farming  industry. 
The  ground  is  level  and  easily  tilled.  In  some  parts  of  the  low- 
land there  is  an  accumulation  of  sand  and  gravel,  and  on  these 
tracts  cultivation  is  restricted  to  pasturage  and  forest  growth. 
The  streams  in  the  lowland  are  of  slow  current  and  meandering 
course.  By  reason  of  the  large  volume  of  water,  these  streams 
are  important  sources  of  power,  Avhere  there  is  any  fall  in  their 
channel.  Communication  is  easy  between  the  valley  towns.  As 
a  result  of  these  physiographic  conditions,  the  important  centers 
of  commerce,  manufactures,  and,  in  a  large  measure,  of  agricul- 
ture, are  found  in  the  valley  lowland.  A  survey  of  the  history  of 
Hampden  county  will  show  that  Springfield,  in  the  geographical 
center  of  the  valley,  was  the  first  settlement,  and  next  in  order 
came  the  cluster  of  towns  and  cities  that  now  surround  Spring- 
field.    The  hill  towns  were  settled  at  later  dates. 

The  upland  country  may  be  described  in  general  terms  as  a 
dissected  plateau.     On  the  west  it  extends  from  the  border  of  the 

1-1  (        1        ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

Connecticut  valley  to  the  hills  of  the  Berkshires.  The  elevation 
is  from  one  thousand  to  twelve  hundred  feet  above  the  sea.  Allu- 
vial soil  is  found  occasionally  in  places,  where  the  material  car- 
ried down  the  hillsides  by  rain  accumulates.  Where  the  forest 
growth  has  prevailed  for  a  long  time  there  is  formed  a  thick 
layer  of  vegetable  mould,  that  constitutes  a  valuable  soil.  In 
the  open  country  the  soil  is  variable  in  quality,  but  does  not  as  a 
rule  approach  the  high  grade  alluvium  of  the  valley.  Unremit- 
ting industry  and  careful  attention  to  detail  are  needed  to  win 
success  in  farming.  The  valleys  are  canyon-like  in  character, 
with  steep  sides  and  with  slight  development  of  river  or  flood 
plains.  Bowlders,  large  and  small,  fill  up  the  beds  of  the  streams 
and  mountain  brooks  and  heighten  the  picturesque  quality  of  the 
region.  The  channel  slopes  are  steep,  often  abrupt,  and  valuable 
water  powers  abound.  The  main  highways  follow  the  larger 
valleys,  while  to  reach  the  higher  levels  one  must  struggle  up  the 
hard  and  severe  grades  of  the  mountain  roads. 

A  way  for  the  principal  railroad  of  the  region,  the  Boston 
and  Albany,  has  been  provided  by  the  valley  of  the  Westfield  river. 
It  is  by  this  valley  that  communication  is  established  from  the 
Connecticut  river  lowlands  to  the  valley  of  the  Housatonic.  The 
drainage  system  has  not  been  perfectly  developed  by  reason  of 
the  comparative  youth  of  the  main  rivers  and  their  tributaries. 
As  a  result  there  are  considerable  areas  of  bogs  and  swamps  on 
certain  of  the  upland  plateaus.  But  little  connection  can  be 
traced  between  the  character  and  structure  of  the  rocks  and  the 
erosion  of  the  region.  The  valleys  are  for  the  most  part  trans- 
verse and  the  general  trend  of  the  drainage  is  towards  the  south- 
east. A  somewhat  important  longitudinal  valley  is  that  which 
extends  northward  from  Huntington,  but  this  is  situated  for  the 
most  part  in  Hampshire  county. 

The  western  highlands  contain  valuable  deposits  of  minerals 
and  extensive  quarries  of  building  stone.  A  most  noted  mineral 
is  the  emery  found  at  Chester.  Kaolin,  quartz,  felspar  and  soap- 
stone  are  found  in  Blandford.  At  Mundale  in  the  town  of  West- 
field  a  quarry  of  a  verd  antique  marble  has  been  opened,  and  is 
yielding  an  ornamental  stone  of  excellent  quality. 

(        2        ) 


GEOLOGY 

The  pursuits  of  the  people  on  the  uplands  are  in  the  main 
agriculture,  including  grazing,  lumbering  and  general  farming. 
There  are  a  number  of  small  factories  located  on  the  streams 
where  Avater  power  is  found.  The  development  of  mineral  re- 
sources is  another  industry  of  importance.  In  the  summer  time 
the  hill  country  is  a  favorite  resort  for  city  people,  by  reason  of 
the  clear,  cool  air,  pure  water,  and  attractive  scenery. 

Eastward  of  the  Connecticut  valley  is  another  plateau  region 
that  extends  into  Worcester  county.  This  plateau  is  in  most  re- 
spects like  that  to  the  westward.  The  elevation  is  not  so  great  and 
the  plan  of  the  valley  systems  is  in  some  respects  much  simpler. 
The  main  drainage  channel  is  the  Chicopee  river,  which  corre- 
sponds to  the  Westfield  river  in  the  western  plateau.  There  is 
a  finely  developed  longitudinal  valley,  which  follows  the  course 
•of  Swift  river  and  is  continued  through  Palmer  and  Monson. 
An  accumulation  of  glacial  material  at  Palmer  has  caused  a 
diversion  of  the  Swift  river  to  the  west,  but  the  valley  opens 
southward  to  the  waters  of  the  AVillimantic  river. 

Along  the  valley  of  the  Chicopee  river  run  the  tracks  of  the 
Boston  and  Albany  railway,  and  this  road  constitutes  the  main 
avenue  of  communication  with  the  east.  In  the  longitudinal 
valley  of  Palmer  and  IMonson,  way  has  been  found  for  the  New 
London  Northern  railroad.  The  eastern  plateau  is  more  accessi- 
ble and  less  rugged  in  character  than  the  western,  and  settle- 
ments are  larger  and  manufacturing  developed  on  a  more  im- 
portant scale.  There  are  several  towns  of  large  size,  as  Palmer 
and  ]\Ionson.  ]\Iany  of  the  towns  possess  extensive  water  power 
and  good  railroad  facilities.  Farming  suffers  from  the  difficul- 
ties of  a  rocky  country,  where  the  ground  abounds  in  stones  and 
bowlders,  and  the  soil  is  only  moderately  fertile.  Extensive 
quarries  are  at  Monson,  where  a  high  grade  of  building  stone, 
known  as  Monson  granite,  is  found. 

It  will  be  clear  from  this  sketch  of  the  general  features  of 
Hampden  county  that  its  physical  geography  and  geology  may 
be  discussed  in  relation  to  three  comparatively  distinct  districts; 
the  western  highlands,  the  valley  lowlands,  and  the  eastern  high- 
lands.    This  paper  will  deal  with  the  present  conditions  and  with 

(         3         ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

the  processes  by  which  this  development  of  the  region  has  been 
attained. 

The  underlying  rocks  of  the  western  highlands  consist  of 
ancient  crystalline  schists,  qiiartzites,  gneiss  with  beds  of  ani- 
phibolite,  serpentine,  emery  and  magnetite.  The  older  forma- 
tions are  to  the  westward,  where  on  the  borders  of  the  county 
there  are  found  exposures  of  the  Becket  gneiss.  This  rock  is 
now  regarded  as  Lower  Cambrian  in  age.  In  the  township  of 
Tolland  the  Becket  gneiss  is  wrapped  around  a  rock  of  still 
earlier  age — the  "Washington  gneiss.  The  latter  formation  is 
pre-Cambrian,  or  Algonkian. 

The  Washington  gneiss  is  rusty  in  color,  by  reason  of  the  de- 
composition of  its  iron  bearing  minerals,  as  hornblende  and  pyr- 
rhotite.  It  is  composed  in  the  main  of  quartz  and  biotite  mica. 
Graphite  is  found  in  all  the  exposures  and  a  blue  quartz,  which 
often  gives  the  rock  a  beautiful  color.  In  the  town  of  Washing- 
ton there  is  a  graphite  mine  in  this  rock.  The  rock  may  be 
studied  to  advantage  on  the  line  of  the  railroad  from  Becket  east 
towards  the  Middlefield  line.  The  change  to  the  Becket  gneiss 
may  also  be  seen  at  this  point.  The  Becket  gneiss  is  light  grey 
in  color,  fine  grained  and  composed  of  but  few  minerals.  The 
gray  color  is  caused  by  the  biotite  mica,  as  the  felspar  and  quartz 
are  colorless.  Some  of  the  Becket  gneiss  is  a  coarse  conglomer- 
ate, other  exposures  are  thin-fissile,  while  again  it  is  a  fine  grained 
granitoid- gneiss — a  most  excellent  quarry  stone.  It  is  quarried 
at  Middlefield  and  in  Becket  and  is  suitable  for  construction  and 
monumental  work.  On  the  east  side  of  the  Connecticut  river,  the 
Monson  gneiss  is  the  correlative  of  the  Becket  gneiss. 

The  Lower  Silurian  rocks  of  the  western  uplands  are  the 
Hoosac  schist,  the  Kowe  schist,  the  Chester  amphibolites  with 
emery  and  serpentine,  the  Savoy  schist  and  the  Hawley  schist. 
Exposures  of  all  these  rocks  may  be  found  in  the  Avestern  part  of 
Chester.  The  oldest  rock  of  these  formations— the  Hoosac  schist 
— is  hydrated  and  is  greasy  in  feeling,  and  in  some  cases  contains 
garnets.  There  are  two  kinds  of  mica,  muscovite  and  biotite,  and 
the  quartz  grains  are  often  cemented  by  crystals  of  albite.  It  is 
technically  knoAvn  as  an  albitic-sericite  schist. 

(        4        ) 


GEOLOGY 

The  Kowe  schist  may  be  seen  to  good  advantage  on  the  Ches- 
ter-Becket  road  westward  from  Chester.  It  is  a  coarse,  sericitic 
schist,  soft  and  greasy,  and  often  is  quartzose  in  character  and  of 
firm  texture.  Professor  Emerson  estimates  that  the  thickness  of 
this  rock  series  is  about  seven  thousand  feet. 

In  connection  with  the  valuable  emery  deposits  at  Chester 
there  are  found  beds  of  amphibolite  and  of  serpentine.  The 
amphibolite  is  a  dark  green  rock,  and  has  on  its  eastern  border 
extensive  deposits  of  serpentine  and  soapstone  or  steatite.  The 
emery  and  magnetite  of  Chester  are  closely  associated  with  the 
hornblende  schist  or  amphibolite,  w'hile  in  Blandford,  Osborn's 
soapstone  quarry  is  found  in  the  same  connection. 

The  Chester  emery  bed  was  first  workea  as  a  magnetite  de- 
posit, but  in  1864  it  was  found  that  emery  occurred  in  connection 
with  the  magnetite,  and  since  that  time  a  great  amount  of  the  ore 
has  been  obtained.  Emery  is  of  great  value  in  the  mechanical 
arts,  because  of  its  hardness  and  abrasive  qualities.  The  Chester 
emery  is  of  excellent  quality. 

After  the  band  of  Chester  amphibolite,  there  comes  next  in 
order  the  Savoy  schist.  In  Chester  this  formation  is  from  one  to 
two  miles  wide,  but  in  Blandford  and  Russell  it  reaches  a  breadth 
of  seven  miles.  It  is  a  muscovite  schist,  with  hydrated  mica. 
It  is  light  grey  in  color,  and  is  soapy  in  feeling.  The  Hawley 
schist— the  uppermost  member  of  the  lower  Silurian  series,  is 
scarcely  represented  in  Hampden  county.  It  is  a  sericitic  schist 
and  in  the  northern  part  of  the  state  contains  beds  of  iron  and 
manganese  ores. 

Under  the  head  of  upper  Silurian  rocks,  there  are  placed  the 
Goshen  and  Conway  schists.  The  Goshen  schist  is  found  in 
Chester  and  Russell.  The  rock  is  dark  colored  by  reason  of 
graphite,  and  contains  garnets.  The  Conway  schists  are  much 
corrugated,  and  are  called  spangled  schists,  from  the  fact  that 
the  crystals  of  biotite  mica  show  shining  cleavage  surfaces  on 'a 
section  across  the  grain  of  the  rock.  Beds  of  this  rock  occur  in 
the  northeast  part  of  the  town  of  Montgomery.  Along  the  east- 
ern border  of  the  upland  area  there  are  found  outcrops  of  an 
igneous  rock  of  carboniferous  age.     It  is  known  as  the  Williams- 

(        5         ) 


orn  COUNTY  and  its  people 

burg  granite.  This  rock  is  a  coarse  miiscovite-biotite  granite, 
A  great  mushroom-like  mass  of  this  rock  can  be  seen  on  Mount 
Tekoa  in  Montgomery.  The  rounded  dome  of  granite  can  be 
seen  in  sharp  contrast  with  the  darker  schists. 

The  Devonian  period  is  not  represented  by  any  rocks  in  the 
area  of  Hampden  county  and  there  are  no  deposits  of  cretaceous 
age. 

All  the  rocks  of  the  western  highlands  are  much  altered  by 
heat,  pressure  and  chemical  action  from  their  original  condition. 
The  old  layers  have  been  either  changed  in  direction  by  folding 
or  else  entirely  destroyed  and  their  place  taken  by  a  cleavage 
structure.  The  dip  of  the  strata  is  nearly  vertical,  while  the 
direction  in  which  the  strata  run  is  approximately  north  and 
south.  All  the  rocks  of  the  highland  country  are  of  a  much 
greater  age  than  those  of  the  valley  lowland. 

The  eastern  highlands  present  a  similar  succession  of  forma- 
tions as  those  just  described  for  the  western  hill  country.  In  some 
cases  the  rock  characters  are  not  exactly  the  same  as  in  the  corre- 
sponding formation  on  the  west  of  the  river.  There  is,  more- 
over, a  certain  parallelism  of  strata  that  is  w-orthy  of  note,  and  a 
close  relation  between  erosion  and  the  nature  of  the  underlying 
rock.  On  the  hillside  above  the  village  of  Wilbraham  there  is 
found  a  good  example  of  Conway  schist.  This  formation  ex- 
tends from  the  state  line  to  a  point  about  two  miles  north  of  the 
Chicopee  river  in  Ludlow.  The  rock  is  coarse,  light  gray,  and 
abounds  in  muscovite.  As  a  result  of  the  pressure  along  the 
eastern  edge  of  the  valley,  the  rock  is  crumpled  and  silicitied. 
Along  the  crest  of  Wilbraham  mountain  there  are  found  numer- 
ous bands  of  hornblende,  of  the  same  age  as  the  Chester  amphibo- 
lite.  This  hornblende  is  fissile  and  splits  into  thin  layers.  The 
surface  shows  a  black,  satiny  appearance  by  reason  of  the  inter- 
lacing needles  of  hornblende  crj^stals.  A  small  outcrop  of  Savoy 
schist  is  found  in  the  south  part  of  the  town  of  Hampden.  It  is 
known  as  whetstone  schist,  and  is  a  gray  rock  of  granular  struc- 
ture, abounding  in  quartzite.  To  the  east  of  the  schist  of  Wil- 
braham the  country  rock  for  a  distance  of  six  miles  is  composed 
of  the  Becket  gneiss,  locally  known  as  the  Monson  granite. 

(        6        ) 


GEOLOGY 

Then  comes  a  succession  of  several  formations,  each  repre- 
sented by  long  narrow  outcrops.  By  reason  of  the  upfolding  of 
the  rocks  and  subsequent  erosion,  the  succession  of  strata  from 
west  to  east  is  as  follows :  Chester  amphibolite,  Savoy  schist, 
and  Conway  schist  as  the  center  of  the  series;  then  in  reverse 
order,  Savoy  schist,  Chester  amphibolite  and  Rowe  schist.  The 
rock  which  constitutes  the  bottom  and  sides  of  the  valley  from 
Palmer  through  Monson  is  composed  of  the  "Monson 
granite"— the  equivalent  of  the  Becket  gneiss,  and  it 
is  in  this  outcrop  that  the  well  known  quarries  are  located.  The 
stone  found  at  this  point  is  of  excellent  quality  and  has  been  used 
in  the  construction  of  many  noted  buildings.  The  traveller  who 
goes  eastward  from  the  Monson  rock  passes  in  order  over  Chester 
amphibolite,  the  Brimfield  schist,  an  equivalent  of  the  Conway 
schist,  the  Savoy  schist,  and  then  over  another  series  of  out-crops 
of  the  Brimfield  schist.  In  connection  with  the  Monson 
granite  there  are  several  dikes  of  an  intrusive  black  trap  rock  of 
igneous  origin,  while  in  Brimfield  there  is  found  the  Coy's  Hill 
granitite,  a  coarse  porphyritic  biotite  granite.  Another  igneous 
rock  of  carboniferous  age  is  the  BelchertoAvn  tonalite,  a  great 
block  of  which  is  thrust  over  the  boundary  line  of  Ludlow  and 
Palmer.  Tonalite  is  a  granitoid  rock,  containing  quartz,  plagio- 
clase,  felspar  and  hornblende. 

In  character,  dip,  strike  and  structure,  the  rocks  of  the  east- 
ern highlands  bear  a  close  resemblance  to  those  of  the  west,  and  a 
close  correlation  has  been  established  between  the  two.  Both 
series  have  been  subject  to  similar  agencies,  physical  and  chemi- 
cal, and  the  original  rock  materials  have  been  subjected  to  like 
metamorphosis. 

In  the  valley  lowland,  rocks  of  a  much  more  recent  formation 
than  those  of  the  hills  are  found.  The  layers  are  but  little 
changed  from  a  horizontal  position,  and  the  amount  of  folding 
and  crushing  has  been  very  slight.  All  the  rocks  can  be  classified 
as  sandstone,  though  there  are  differences  in  composition  and 
structure  that  make  possible  rough  distinctions.  The  rock  on  the 
eastern  and  western  borders  is  known  as  the  Sugar  Loaf  sand- 
stone.    It  is  coarse  in  structure,  and  abounds  in  felspar,  and  is 

(         7         ) 


QUE  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

composed  of  angular  granite  debris  cemented  together.  Outside 
of  this  deposit  there  occurs  in  AA'ilbraham  and  Hampden  a  por- 
tion of  the  Mt.  Toby  conglomerate,  Avhere  the  rock  is  composed  of 
very  coarse  angular  fragments  of  slate.  Adjoining  the  area  of 
Sugar  Loaf  sandstone,  is  found  the  Longmeadow  sandstone,  a 
reddish  broAvn  stone,  very  fine  grained.  This  rock  often  shows 
the  imprint  of  tracks  of  ancient  animals,  mud  cracks,  ripple 
marks  and  rain  drops.  The  central  part  of  the  valley  is  occupied 
by  the  Chicopee  shale,  which  is  very  fine  grained,  red  and  black 
in  color,  and  composed  of  sand  and  clay. 

As  a  result  of  earth  movements  the  layers  of  sandstone  have 
been  slightly  displaced.  The  tilting  has  given  the  formation  a 
slight  dip  towards  the  east.  This  direction  may  be  easily  seen 
where  the  upper  surfaces  of  ledges  are  exposed,  as  in  the  quarries 
at  East  Longmeadow  and  also  on  the  banks  of  the  Chicopee 
river.  This  sandstone  extends  from  near  the  north  line  of  the 
state  to  the  shores  of  Long  Island  sound.  It  proves  an  excellent 
building  stone,  and  there  are  extensive  quarries  at  East  Long- 
meadow. Data  obtained  from  borings  for  artesian  wells  and 
from  other  sources  indicate  that  the  entire  deposit  of  sandstone 
is  from  three  thousand  to  ten  thousand  feet  in  thickness.  In 
certain  localities  the  layers  of  sandstone  show  interesting  traces 
of  the  ancient  life  of  the  region.  Slabs  have  been  found  with 
the  imprints  of  the  feet  of  animals  that  were  probably  akin  to  the 
reptiles  and  amphibians  of  the  present  day.  In  other  cases  there 
are  the  traces  of  insects,  impressions  by  waves  and  ripples,  mud 
cracks  caused  by  the  drying  of  the  deposits,  and  rain  drop  im- 
pressions made  by  passing  showers  on  the  plastic  material.  Ed- 
ward Hitchcock,  professor  of  geology  in  Amherst  college,  and 
afterwards  president  of  that  institution,  made  an  extensive  col- 
lection of  those  impressions  and  embodied  the  results  of  his 
investigation  in  his  Keport  on  Ichnology,  published  in  1858. 

While  the  general  surface  of  the  valley  is  level,  there  is  one 
notable  exception  to  this  rule  in  the  ridge  of  hills  associated 
with  ]Mounts  Tom  and  Holyoke.  In  Hampden  county  these  ridges 
pass  through  the  western  part  of  Holyoke,  AVest  Springfield  and 
Agawam.     The  structure  can  be  well  studied  on  the  line  of  the 

(        8        ) 


GEOLOGY 

Boston  and  Albany  railroad  between  Mittineague  and  Westfield. 
Two  distinct  ridges  may  be  seen.  There  is  a  cutting  through  the 
eastern  and  lower  ridge  just  west  of  the  station  of  Tatham.  The 
rock  is  igneous  in  origin  and  is  known  as  the  Holyoke  diabase. 
It  is  dark  gray  in  color,  compact  and  crystalline.  A  columnar 
structure  is  apparent  at  places,  and  there  is  no  evidence  of  bed- 
ding. Some  of  the  rock  is  porous  and  spongy  in  character  and 
often  the  cavities  are  filled  with  quartz  and  calcite.  At  the  west 
end  of  the  cutting  the  trap  diabase  will  be  seen  resting  on  the 
upper  surface  of  sandstone.  Some  three-quarters  of  a  mile  to 
the  west  is  another  and  higher  ridge  of  the  trap  rock.  In  this 
there  has  been  opened  a  large  quarry.  The  rock  is  valuable  as  a 
material  for  macadamizing  roads.  In  the  walls  of  the  quarry 
the  columnar  arrangement  of  the  material  is  well  developed. 
These  two  ridges  are  the  result  of  successive  outflows  of  lava, 
during  the  period  of  the  deposition  of  the  sandstone.  In  all 
probability  the  lava  flowed  over  the  muddy  bottom  of  the  estuaiy 
and  was  then  covered  by  additional  layers  of  mud  and  sand. 
These  in  time  hardened  into  stone  and  then  there  was  a  second 
and  smaller  flow  of  lava.  This  in  turn  was  covered  by  sand- 
stone. As  a  result  of  the  tilting  and  faulting  of  the  region,  and 
etching  out  by  subsequent  erosion,  the  trap  ridges  now  stand  out 
in  bold  relief  above  the  floor  of  sandstone.  On  the  southern 
slopes  of  Mount  Tom  and  Mount  Holyoke  there  are  remains  of 
distinct  volcanic  action ;  beds  of  tufa,  and  lava  plugs,  the  re- 
mains of  ancient  volcanos  have  been  mapped  by  the  students  of 
the  geology  of  the  region. 

It mustbe understood  that  the  rock  formations  as  described  in 
this  paper  are  the  foundation  for  surface  materials  as  soil,  sand, 
gravel  and  clay.  Throughout  the  upland  country  these  super- 
ficial deposits  can  be  traced  very  directly  to  glacier  action.  They 
consist  of  coarse  sand  and  gravels,  and  there  is  no  evidence  of 
stratification,  nor  sorting  of  the  bowlders  or  pebbles.  The  rock 
fragments  are  not  rounded  or  polished,  but  are  in  form  sub-angu- 
lar. Often  the  fields  and  pasture  land  are  covered  with  great 
bowlders.  The  ledges  of  the  country  rock  are  in  many  places 
smoothed  and  scratched  by  the  action  of  the  moving  ice  sheets. 

(        9        )       . 


01 R  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

In  the  valleys,  great  masses  of  this  glacial  debris  have  been 
Avashed  down  by  streams  and  by  heavy  rains.  The  thickness  of 
the  glacial  deposit  or  drift  varies  ^vith  localities.  It  is  some- 
times piled  np  in  rounded  hills,  known  as  drumlins,  and  again 
occurs  as  long  ridges  of  gravel— called  esker.  McCarthy's  hill 
in  East  Longmeadow  is  a  good  example  of  a  drumlin,  while  a  fine 
esker  is  to  be  seen  in  Monson,  east  of  the  village  and  near  the  line 
of  railroad. 

Under  the  surface  drift  there  is  found,  more  particularly  in 
the  wider  valleys,  a  compact  deposit  of  unstratified  clays,  sands 
and  rock  fragments,  knoAvn  as  bowlder  clay  or  till.  In  the  broad 
valley  of  the  Connecticut,  the  action  of  river  and  lake  have 
largely  rearranged  the  glacial  material.  At  the  close  of  the  ice 
age  extensive  lake  systems  were  formed  and  out  of  these  there 
were  washed  by  rivers  deposits  of  stratified  clays  and  sands,  as 
delta  formations.  It  is  on  such  a  delta  that  Springfield  is  situ- 
ated. The  fertile  and  alluvial  meadows  are  the  result  of  river 
action  in  shaping  and  molding  the  materials  deposited  in  the 
glacial  lakes. 

In  studyingthe  geological  evolution  of  the  region  of  Hampden 
county,  attention  must  be  first  paid  to  the  problem  of  the  upland 
country.  Originally  the  materials  of  the  rocks  of  this  country 
nnist  have  been  deposited  as  sands,  clays  and  limestone  in  waters 
of  sea,  bay,  or  ocean.  Then  by  pressure  these  deposits  were 
folded  and  faulted  until  mountains  of  considerable  height  were 
formed.  But  as  soon  as  the  rock  materials  were  exposed  to  the 
action  of  air  and  water,  those  latter  agents  began  their  work  of 
leveling  down  the  country.  In  time  this  process  of  denudation 
reduced  the  region  to  a  base  level,  near  sea  level,  and  there  was 
thus  produced  a  peneplain  of  denudation.  This  peneplain  is 
supposed  to  have  been  the  result  of  atmospheric  agencies,  rather 
than  of  wave  or  sea  action. 

After  reduction  to  near  sea  level,  the  region  Avas  raised  again, 
and  as  a  result  of  this  elevation  and  tilting  the  streams  were  once 
again  given  a  definite  slope,  and  then  work  of  erosion  was  re- 
sumed. The  comparatively  even  sky  line  of  the  hill  country  is 
an  evidence  of  the  peneplain,  while  the  deep,  narrow  valleys  and 

(       10       ) 


GEOLOGY 

the  frequent  rapids  and  cataracts  in  the  streams  show  that  the 
drainage  system  is  of  recent  and  imperfect  development.  For 
the  same  reason,  the  brooks  and  rivers  abound  in  water  power 
facilities. 

The  Connecticut  valley  is  much  different  in  topographical 
features  from  the  valleys  in  the  upland  country.  It  presents 
evidences  of  mature  development  in  its  broad  river  plain,  and  its 
gently  sloping  sides.  It  has  none  of  the  canyon-like  character  of 
the  valley  of  the  Westfield  river.  The  explanation  of  these  dif- 
ferences, however,  is  not  so  much  one  of  age  as  of  the  conditions 
of  rock  and  structure. 

At  some  time,  long  before  the  development  of  the  peneplain, 
the  area  of  the  valley  lowland  was  subjected  to  a  marked  depres- 
sion in  level.  As  a  result^  the  waters  of  the  sea  covered  the  crys- 
talline rocks  and  a  broad,  shallow  estuary  was  formed.  In  tliis 
estuary  deposits  of  mud  and  sand  were  made.  These  deposits 
were  coarsest  along  the  eastern  and  w^estern  slopes  of  the  bay, 
where  the  currents  and  tides  were  strongest,  and  these  materials 
when  consolidated  formed  the  present  Sugar  Loaf  sandstone  and 
Mt.  Toby  conglomerate.  Towards  the  center  of  the  basin  tiner 
materials  were  laid  down  and  became  in  time  the  Longmeadow 
sandstone  and  Chicopee  shale.  In  such  an  estuary  the  tides  are 
very  high  and  when  there  was  low  Avater,  extensive  mud  and 
sand  flats  w^ere  exposed.  There  was  thus  given  an  opportunity 
for  impressions  of  various  kinds  to  be  made  on  the  fresh  surface. 
As  the  mud  dried  and  hardened  these  were  preserved  under  the 
layer  of  deposit  made  by  the  waters  when  the  mud  banks  were 
next  covered.  The  completed  result  was  a  very  deep  bed  of 
sandstone  rock. 

In  connection  with  the  deposit  of  sandstone  came  the  period 
of  volcanic  activity,  which  gave  rise  to  the  ridges  of  Mounts  Tom 
and  Holyoke.  These  trap  ridges  extend  to  Long  Island  sound, 
and  constitute  a  most  striking  feature  of  the  valley  scenery.  The 
outflow  of  trap  occurred  from  certain  fissures  in  the  muddy  bot- 
tom of  the  estuary.  When  the  first  and  greatest  flow  occurred, 
the  trap  rolled  slowly  westward  under  the  waters  of  the  estuary 
and  then  cooled  and  hardened.     More  sandstone  was  deposited 

(       11       ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

and  then  came  a  second  flow,  the  material  for  the  lesser  ridge. 
The  deposit  of  sandstone  ceased  with  the  general  uplifting  and 
tilting  of  the  region  and  a  period  of  erosion  began. 

Under  this  process  the  sandstones  yielded  rapidly  because  of 
their  loose  structure  and  lack  of  power  to  resist  the  weather. 
The  trap  and  the  older  crystalline  rocks  yielded  but  slowly  to  the 
erosive  agencies,  and  so  the  general  level  of  the  Connecticut 
valley  was  cut  down  below  that  of  the  rocks  to  the  east  and  west. 
The  trap  ridges  also  resisted  the  erosion  and  so  gained  a  clear 
relief  against  the  level  of  the  sandstone. 

At  a  much  later  period  there  came  a  change  in  climate  and 
arctic  conditions  prevailed  in  New  England.  Snow  and  ice 
accumulated  until  the  country  was  covered  with  a  glacier  mass, 
like  that  which  at  present  rests  on  Greenland.  This  ice  mass 
moved  in  a  general  southerly  direction  in  the  Connecticut  valley. 
It  continued  the  work  of  erosion  and  scratched,  scarred,  smoothed 
or  crumbled  into  fragments  the  rocks  over  which  it  passed.  The 
drift  material  left  by  the  glacier  is  found  widely  distributed 
over  the  face  of  the  country.  Bowlders  and  pebbles  with  the 
marks  of  glacial  action  abound,  and  often  the  ledges  from  which 
these  bowlders  were  torn  are  many  miles  to  the  northward. 

With  another  change  of  climate,  a  rise  in  temperature,  the  ice 
melted  and  the  glacial  sheet  retreated.  This  disappearance  of 
the  ice  was  not  rapid  or  continuous.  There  were  times  when  the 
glacier  front  halted  or  even  resumed  its  advance.  In  the  deeper 
valleys  long  lobes  of  ice  were  extended  southward.  By  reason 
of  the  melting  of  the  ice  and  the  damming  up  of  the  natural 
drainage  channels,  extensive  lake  formations  were  formed  in 
Western  Massachusetts.  In  the  valley,  the  Springfield  lake 
extended  from  Mount  Holyoke  on  the  north  to  IMiddletown, 
Conn.,  on  the  south.  Its  westward  boundary  was  the  ridge  of 
Mount  Tom,  and  on  the  east  it  washed  the  lower  slopes  of  the 
Wilbraham  hills.  There  was  a  smaller  lake  in  the  basin  east  of 
Wilbraham  mountain,  and  the  plain  of  Westfield  was  covered  by 
the  waters  of  a  lake  that  extended  from  north  of  the  Holyoke 
range. 

In  such  quiet,  land-locked  bodies  of  water,  there  was  abundant 

(       12       ) 


GEOLOGY 

opportunity  for  extensive  deposits,  and  the  streams  from  north, 
east  and  west  carried  into  these  lakes,  sands,  gravels  and  tine  silt. 
The  central  and  deeper  water  contained  finer  material.  Such 
was  the  formation  of  the  clays,  that  now  constitute  the  east  bank 
of  the  river.  Coarser  materials  were  found  near  the  outlets  of 
rivers,  as  for  example  the  gravels  in  the  vicinity  of  Indian  Or- 
chard. The  Chicopee  river  built  up  in  the  Springfield  lake  a 
great  delta  of  clay  covered  with  sands.  These  deposits  are  strat- 
ified, and  in  this  respect  present  a  striking  contrast  to  the  glacial 
drift. 

After  the  lakes  were  filled  with  these  materials,  sands,  clays 
and  gravels,  the  river  began  to  develop  the  present  drainage 
system  of  the  lowland.  The  Connecticut  river  as  it  made  a 
pendulum-like  motion  from  east  to  west,  at  the  same  time  cut 
down  through  the  lacustrine  deposits.  In  this  way  there  were 
formed  the  fine  terraces  which  add  so  much  to  the  beauty  of 
Springfield.  The  Chicopee  river  was  pushed  northward  by  the 
delta  formation.  Thus,  through  the  action  of  the  main  stream 
and  its  tributaries,  the  valley  has  attained  its  present  contour. 
Now  the  river  is  engaged  in  two  kinds  of  work.  It  is  at  certain 
places  tearing  down  the  banks,  while  a  short  distance  away  it  is 
building  alluvial  plains  like  the  meadows  of  Agawam. 

In  geological  history,  the  sandstones  of  the  valley  are  placed 
in  the  Triassic  period,  the  drift  in  the  Glacial  epoch,  the  clays 
and  sand  are  of  the  Champlain  period,  and  the  cutting  down  of 
the  river  through  the  clays  and  sands  occurred  in  the  Terrace 
period. 

Note — Any  one  who  wishes  to  make  an  exhaustive  study  of  the  geology  of 
this  region  is  referred  to  the  elaborate  monograph  of  Professor  B.  K.  Emerson  of 
Amherst.  This  work  is  entitled  Geology  of  Old  Hampshire  county,  Massachu- 
setts, and  is  volume  XXIX  of  the  monographs  of  the  United  States  geological 
survey.  Much  use  has  been  made  of  this  monograph  in  the  preparation  of  this 
chapter. 


(       13       ) 


CHAPTER  II 

DISCOVERY    AND    OCCUPATION 

Early  European  Discoveries  in  America — The  French  in  Canada 
—The  Dutch  in  Neiv  York— The  English  in  Virginia— The 
Puritans  in  Neiv  England— Three  European  Powers  Claim 
Sovereignty  over  the  Territory  coynprising  Massachusetts — 
Overthrow  of  the  Dutch  in  the  Netherlands— Struggle  for 
Supremacy  hetiveen  the  French  and  English— End  of  the 
French  Dominion. 

In  1492,  Christopher  Columbus,  a  Genoese,  sailing  under  the 
flag  of  Spain,  made  his  wonderful  discoveries  in  the  Western 
hemisphere.  This  event  in  history  always  has  been  referred  to 
as  the  discover}^  of  America,  yet  the  first  Europeans  to  visit  the 
continent  were  Scandinavians,  who  colonized  Iceland  A.  D.,  875, 
Greenland  in  983,  and  about  the  year  1000  had  cruised  south- 
ward as  far  as  the  Massachusetts  coast. 

Following  close  upon  the  discoveries  of  Columbus  and  other 
■early  explorers,  various  foreign  powers  fitted  out  fleets  and 
commissioned  navigators  to  establish  colonies  in  the  new  country. 
In  1508  Aubert  discovered  the  St.  Lawrence  river ;  and  in  1524, 
Francis  I,  king  of  France,  sent  Jean  Verrazzani  on  a  voyage  of 
■exploration  to  the  new  world.  He  entered  a  harbor,  supposed  to 
have  been  that  of  New  York,  where  he  remained  fifteen  days. 
This  Gallic  explorer  cruised  along  the  coast  more  than  2,100 
miles,  sailing  as  far  north  as  Labrador,  and  giving  to  the  whole 
region  the  name  of  "New  France"— a  name  by  which  the  French 
possessions  in  America  were  afterward  known  during  the  domin- 
ion of  that  power. 

(       14       ) 


DISCOVERY  AND  OCdPATlON 

In  1534  the  French  king  sent  Jacques  Cartier  to  the  country. 
He  made  two  voyages  and  ascended  the  St.  Lawrence  as  far  as 
Montreal.  The  next  year  he  again  visited  the  region  with  a  fleet, 
which  brought  a  number  of  the  French  nobility,  all  filled  with 
high  hopes  and  bearing  the  blessings  of  the  church.  This  party 
was  determined  upon  the  colonization  of  the  country,  but  after  a 
winter  of  extreme  suffering  on  the  Isle  of  Orleans  they  aban- 
doned their  scheme  and  returned  to  France ;  and  as  a  beginning 
of  the  long  list  of  needless  and  shameful  betrayals,  treacheries 
and  other  abuses  to  which  the  too  confiding  natives  were  sub- 
jected, Cartier  inveigled  into  his  vessel  the  Indian  chief  who  had 
been  his  generous  host  and  bore  him  with  several  others  into 
hopeless  captivity  and  final  death. 

In  1540  Cartier  again  visited  the  scene  of  his  former  explora- 
tions, and  was  accompanied  by  Jean  Francis  de  Roberval,  the 
latter  holding  a  king's  commission  as  governor-general  and  being 
vested  with  plenary  powers  of  vice-royalty.  The  results  of  this 
voyage,  however,  were  no  more  satisfactory  than  those  of  their 
predecessor,  and  no  further  attempts  were  made  in  the  same 
direction  until  1598,  when  New  France,  particularly  its  Canadian 
portion,  was  made  a  place  of  banishment  for  French  convicts ; 
but  even  this  scheme  failed,  and  it  remained  for  private  enter- 
prise, stimulated  by  the  hope  of  gain,  to  make  the  first  successful 
effort  toward  the  colonization  of  the  country. 

The  real  discoverer  and  founder  of  a  permanent  colony 
in  New  France  was  Samuel  de  Champlain,  who.  in  1608,  having 
counseled  his  patrons  that  the  banks  of  the  St.  Lawrence  was  the 
most  favorable  site  for  founding  a  new  empire,  was  sent  to  the 
country  and  founded  Quebec.  To  satisfy  his  love  for  explora- 
tion Champlain  united  with  the  Canadian  Indians  and  marched 
into  the  country  southward,  which  the  latter  had  described  to 
him.  The  result  was  the  discovery  of  the  lake  which  bears  his 
name,  the  invasion  of  the  Iroquois  country  and  a  conflict  between 
the  Algonquins  (aided  by  Champlain)  and  a  portion  of  the  con- 
federacy, in  which  the  latter  lost  two  of  their  chiefs  who  fell  by 
the  hands  of  Champlain  himself. 

Thus  was  signalized  the  first  hostile  meeting  between  the  white 
man  and  the  Indian.     Low  as  the  latter  may  have  been  found  in 

(       15       ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

the  scale  of  intelligence  and  humanity,  and  terrible  as  were  many 
of  the  subsequent  deeds  of  the  Indians,  it  cannot  be  claimed  that 
their  early  treatment  at  the  hands  of  the  whites  could  foster  in 
the  savage  breast  any  other  than  feelings  of  bitterest  hostility. 
Champlain's  declaration,  "I  had  put  four  balls  into  my  arque- 
bus," is  a  vivid  testimony  of  how  little  mercy  the  Indians  thence- 
forth were  to  receive  from  the  pale-faced  race  which  was  event- 
ually to  drive  them  from  their  domain.  It  was  an  age,  however, 
in  Avhich  might  was  appealed  to  as  right  more  frequently  than  in 
later  years,  and  the  planting  of  the  lowly  banner  of  the  cross 
was  often  preceded  by  bloody  conquest.  However,  it  is  in  the 
light  of  the  prevailing  custom  of  the  old  world  in  Champlain's 
time  that  we  must  view  his  ready  hostility  to  the  Indian.  Soon 
after  1622  a  member  of  the  Weymouth  colony  in  New  England, 
either  in  absolute  need  or  in  a  spirit  of  wantonness,  stole  from  the 
Indians  of  the  region,  and  in  so  doing  incurred  the  hatred  of  the 
savages  for  all  the  whites  of  the  plantation,  who  narrowly  escaped 
a  fearful  slaughter  at  their  hands. 

In  1609,  a  few  weeks  after  the  battle  between  Champlain 
and  the  Iroquois,  Henry  Hudson,  a  navigator  in  the  service  of 
the  Dutch  East  India  company,  anchored  his  ship  (the  Half- 
INIoon)  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  which  now  bears  his  name.  He 
met  the  savages  and  was  hospitably  received  by  them ;  but  before 
his  departure  he  subjected  them  to  an  experimental  knowledge 
of  the  effects  of  intoxicating  liquor— an  experience  perhaps  more 
baneful  in  its  results  than  that  inflicted  by  Champlain  with  his 
murderous  weapon. 

Hudson  ascended  the  river  to  a  point  within  a  hundred 
miles  of  that  reached  by  Champlain,  then  returned  to  Europe 
and,  through  the  information  he  had  gained,  soon  afterward 
established  a  Dutch  colony,  for  which  a  charter  was  granted  in 
1614,  naming  the  region  "New  Netherland."  The  same  year 
the  Dutch  built  a  fort  on  Manhattan  Island,  and  another  the 
next  year,  called  Fort  Orange,  on  the  site  of  Albany.  In  1621 
the  Dutch  West  India  company  was  formed  and  took  possession 
of  New  Amsterdam  and  the  Netherlands,  and  in  1626  the  terri- 
tory was  made  a  province  of  Holland.     Under  its  charter  the 

(       16       ) 


DISCOVERY  AND  OCCUPATION 

company  laid  claim  to  the  region  of  the  Connecticut  valley,  and 
made  explorations  in  that  locality  previous  to  1630.  Three  years 
later  the  Dutch  built  a  fortification  on  the  bank  of  the  river  at 
"Dutch  Point"  (site  of  Hartford),  and  made  some  feeble  at- 
tempts to  control  the  valley  and  its  settlement  against  the  Puritan 
colonists  of  New  England.  For  fifteen  years  the  Dutch  remained 
at  peace  with  the  Indians,  but  the  unwise  action  of  Governor 
Kieft  provoked  hostilities  that  continued  with  little  cessation 
during  the  remainder  of  the  Dutch  dominion. 

Meanwhile,  in  1607,  the  English  had  made  their  first  perma- 
nent settlement  at  Jamestown,  Virginia,  and  in  1620  had  planted 
their  historic  colony  at  Plymouth  Kock.^  These  two  colonies 
became  the  successful  rivals  of  all  others  in  that  strife  which 
finally  left  them  masters  of  the  entire  country. 

On  the  discoveries  and  colonizations  thus  briefly  noted,  three 
great  European  poAvers  based  claims  to  at  least  a  part  of  the 
territory  embraced  in  the  state  of  Massachusetts ;  first,  England, 
by  reason  of  the  discovery  of  John  Cabot,  who  sailed  under  a 
commission  from  Henry  VII,  and  in  1497  reached  the  sterile 
coast  of  Labrador,  also  that  made  in  the  following  year  by  his  son 
Sebastian,  who  explored  the  same  coast  from  New  Foundland  to 
Florida,  claiming  territory  eleven  degrees  in  width  and  extend- 
ing Avestward  indefinitely ;  second,  France,  which  from  the  dis- 
coveries of  Verrazzani  claimed  a  portion  of  the  Atlantic  coast, 
and  also  (under  the  title  of  New  France)  an  almost  boundless 
region  westward;  and  third,  Holland,  Avhich  based  on  Hudson's 
discoveries  a  claim  to  the  entire  country  from  Cape  Cod  to  the 
southern  shore  of  DelaAvare  Bay.  (If  Ave  picture  a  triangle  AA-ith 
angles  at  Montreal,  Ncav  York  and  Plymouth,  the  central  point 
of  the  figure  thus  formed  Avill  be  found  in  the  region  of  the  Con- 
necticut A^alley  in  Massachusetts,  for  the  possession  of  Avhich  these 
poAvers  AA'ere  contending.) 

^In  1620  James  I,  of  England,  issued  a  charter  to  the  Duke  of  Lenox,  Mar- 
quis of  Buckingham,  and  others,  styling  them  the  "Grand  Council  of  Plymouth  for 
planting  and  governing  Xew  England  in  America."  This  patent  granted  to  them 
the  territory  between  the  40th  and  48th  degrees  of  north  latitude.  The  territory 
granted,  which  had  previously  been  called  North  AMrginia,  now  received  the  name 
of  New  England,  by  royal  authority.  From  this  patent  were  derived  all  the  sub- 
sequent grants  of  the  several  parts  of  the  territory. — Willard. 


3-1 


(        17         ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

The  Dutch  became  the  temporary  occupants  of  a  portion  of 
the  region  under  consideration,  but  their  dominion  was  of  brief 
duration.  Indian  hostilities  were  provoked  through  the  unwise 
jjolicy  of  Governor  Kieft,  whose  official  career  was  continued 
about  ten  years,  he  being  superseded  by  Peter  Stuy\'esant  in 
1649.  His  equitable  policy  harmonized  the  Indians  so  far  as 
the  Dutch  themselves  were  concerned,  but  his  subordinates  occa- 
sionally attempted  to  incite  the  Connecticut  Indians  against  the 
New  England  colonists  and  their  western  plantations,  but  with- 
out serious  effect.  The  Dutch  had  become  thrifty  by  trading 
guns  and  rum  to  the  Indians  in  exchange  for  furs,  and  thus  the 
latter  were  supplied  with  doubly  destructive  weapons. 

However,  in  March,  1664,  Charles  II,  of  England,  conveyed 
to  his  brother  James,  duke  of  York,  all  the  country  from  the 
River  St.  Croix  to  the  Kennebec  in  Maine,  together  with  all  the 
land  from  the  Avest  bank  of  the  Connecticut  river  to  the  east  side 
of  DelaAvare  bay.  The  duke  sent  an  English  squadron  to  secure 
the  gift,  and  in  September  of  the  same  year  Governor  Stuyvesant 
capitulated,  being  constrained  to  that  course  by  the  Dutch  col- 
onists, who  preferred  peace  with  the  same  privileges  accorded  to 
the  English  settlers  rather  than  a  prolonged  and  probably  fruit- 
less contest.  The  English  changed  the  name  of  New  Amsterdam 
to  New  York,  and  thus  ended  the  Dutch  dominion  in  America. 

For  many  years  previous  to  the  overthrow  of  the  Dutch  in 
America,  and  for  nearly  a  century  afterward,  the  English  and 
French  were  rival  powers,  each  struggling  for  the  mastery  on 
both  sides  of  the  Atlantic ;  and  with  each  succeeding  outbreak  of 
war  in  the  mother  countries  there  were  renewed  hostilities  in 
their  American  colonies.  King  William's  war,  about  the  close 
of  the  seventeenth  centurj',  was  the  first  of  these  events  that 
seriously  involved  the  New  England  plantations.  In  1702,  on 
the  accession  of  Anne  to  the  throne  as  successor  to  King  William, 
what  was  known  as  Queen  Anne's  war  was  soon  begun;  and  it 
was  continued  until  the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  April  11,  1713.  While 
the  powers  were  nominally  at  peace  for  many  years  afterward, 
each  was  constantly  strengthening  its  possessions  and  using  every 
endeavor  to  establish  an  alliance  with  the  Indians,  all  prepara- 

(       18       ) 


DISCOVERY  AND  OCCUPATION 

tory  to  the  final  struggle,  which  must  come  in  order  to  settle  the 
question  of  supremacy  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  Fortunately 
for  the  united  colonies  of  New  England,  they  had  by  this  time 
effectually  quieted  the  Indians  within  their  own  jurisdiction,  and 
when  at  length  the  contest  was  begun  they  had  only  to  contend 
against  the  French  and  the  Canadian  Indians. 

In  March,  1744,  war  again  was  declared  between  Great 
Britain  and  France,  and  the  New  York  and  New  England  colonies 
united  in  an  expedition  against  the  French  stronghold  of  Louis- 
burg,  in  Canada,  which  capitulated  in  the  following  year.  The 
contest  was  continued  until  1748,  when  the  ineffectual  treaty  of 
Aix-la-Chapelle  temporarily  put  an  end  to  hostilities.  In  the 
meantime,  while  nominally  at  peace,  both  sides  were  preparing 
for  a  renewal  of  the  contest.  At  the  suggestion  of  Massachusetts 
delegates  to  a  convention  at  Albany,  a  plan  for  a  union  of  all  the 
English  colonies  in  America  was  taken  into  consideration.  The 
suggestion  was  favorably  received  and  the  fertile  brain  of  Benja- 
min Franklin  prepared  the  plan  that  finally  was  adopted.  It 
was  the  forerunner  of  our  federal  constitution ;  but  the  colonial 
assemblies  rejected  it,  deeming  that  it  encroached  on  their  liber- 
ties, while  the  home  government  rejected  it  on  the  ground  that 
it  granted  too  much  power  to  the  people  of  the  colonies. 

The  concluding  war  between  Great  Britain  and  France,  so 
far  as  related  to  their  American  colonies,  was  begun  in  1756  and 
continued  with  great  vigor  until  the  fall  of  Quebec  in  September, 
1759,  although  a  formal  peace  was  not  established  until  1763, 
when,  on  February  10,  the  treaty  of  Paris  was  signed,  whereby 
France  ceded  to  Great  Britain  all  her  possessions  in  Canada. 


(       19       ) 


CHAPTER  III 
THE    INDIANS 

French  and  Jesuit  Influence  among  ike  Indians— The  New  Eng- 
land Missionaries— Location  and  Prohahle  Origin  of  the  Neiu 
England  Indian  Tribes— The  Connecticxd  Fiver  Indians- 
Tit  eir  Habits  and  Characteristics— Efforts  to  Establish  Educa- 
tion and  Christianity  among  the  Tribes— Dutch  Settlers  sell 
Them  Guns  and  Rum. 

When  Champlain  opened  the  way  for  the  French  dominion 
in  America  the  task  of  planting  Christianity  among  the  Indians 
was  assigned  to  the  Jesuits  (a  name  derived  from  the  Society  of 
Jesus,  founded  by  Ignatius  Loyola,  A.  D.  1539),  but  while  their 
primary  object  was  to  spread  the  gospel,  their  secondary  and 
hardly  less  important  purpose  was  to  extend  the  dominion  of 
France.  In  1629  an  English  fleet  sailed  up  the  St.  Lawrence 
river  and  captured  Quebec,  but  upon  the  conclusion  of  a  treaty  of 
Peace  in  1636,  Canada  was  restored  to  King  Louis.  In  less  than 
three  years  from  that  time  no  less  than  fifteen  Jesuit  missionaries 
were  laboring  among  the  Indians  in  the  region  of  the  provinces  of 
Massachusetts  and  New  York,  and  in  extending  their  line  of 
possessions  the  French  established  strongholds  within  the  limits 
of  the  present  states  of  New  Hampshire,  Vermont  and  New  York, 
and  there  is  evidence  tending  to  show  that  the  Jesuit  fathers 
carried  their  Avork  into  the  Connecticut  valley  within  the  bound- 
aries of  this  state. 

At  length,  however,  French  aggression  and  Jesuit  influence 
became  intolerable  to  the  English,  especially  in  New  York,  and 
about  1700  the  colonial  legislature  of  that  province  passed  an 

(       20       ) 


TEE  INDIANS 

unjustifiable  act  expelling  every  Jesuit  missionary,  on  pain  of 
death.  The  act  was  not  fully  obeyed,  yet  it  had  the  effect  to 
retard  French  encroachments  in  certain  localities,  while  the  spir- 
itual welfare  of  the  Indians  did  not  seriously  suffer  through  the 
absence  of  a  guiding  hand. 

In  later  years  the  Jesuit  fathers  were  followed  by  the  faith- 
ful NcAv  England  missionaries,  who  labored  first  for  the  conver- 
sion of  savages  within  their  own  territory,  and  afterward  carried 
their  work  into  the  country  of  the  Iroquois  and  the  Delawares. 
Among  these  workers  were  such  noble  men^  as  Henry  Barclay, 
John  Ogilvie.  Timothy  Woodbridge,  Gideon  Hawley,  Eleazer 
Wheelock,  Samuel  Kirkland,  Bishop  Hobart,  Eleazer  Williams, 
Talbot,  Spencer,  Dan  Barnes  (Methodist),  and  others  of  less 
distinction,  all  of  whom  labored  faithfully  but  with  varied  suc- 
cess for  the  conversion  of  the  Indians.  All,  however,  were  forced 
to  admit  that  their  efforts  as  a  whole  were  unsatisfactory  and  dis- 
couraging; and  even  subsequent  and  more  systematic  attempts 
to  establish  Christianity  and  education  among  the  Indians,  while 
yielding  results  perhaps  sufficient  to  justify  their  prosecution, 
have  constantly  met  with  the  most  discouraging  obstacles. 

The  Indians  of  the  Connecticut  valley,  while  perhaps  more 
peaceful  than  their  western  neighbors,  the  Iroquois,  or  their 
Canadian  ancestors— for  they  undoubtedly  were  of  Algonquin 
or  Huron  ancestry — possessed  substantially  the  same  native 
traits  and  characteristics,  and  there  is  little  indication  that  any 
of  them  were  ever  inclined  to  improve  upon  the  condition  in 
which  they  were  found  by  the  Europeans.  They  were  chiefly 
attached  to  their  warrior  and  hunter  life,  and  devoted  nearly  all 
their  energies  to  the  lower  forms  of  gratification  and  enjoyment. 
Their  dwellings,  even  among  the  more  stationary  tribes,  were 
rude,  their  food  coarse  and  poor,  and  their  domestic  habits  and 
surroundings  unclean  and  barbarous.  Their  dress  was  ordina- 
rily the  skins  of  animals  until  the  advent  of  the  whites,  and  was 
primitive  in  character.     Their  women  were  degraded  into  mere 

iJohn  Eliot  and  Thomas  Hooker  were  early  missionary  workers  among  the 
Indian  tribes,  and  Eliot,  who  was  known  as  the  "Apostle  to  the  Indians,"  trans- 
lated the  Bible  into  their  language.  Their  missionary  work  was  contemporary 
with  that  of  the  Jesuits. 

{       21       ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

beasts  of  burden,  and  Avhile  they  believed  in  a  Supreme  being, 
they  were  powerfully  swayed  by  superstition,  incantations,  med- 
icine men,  dreams  and  visions,  and  their  feasts  were  exhibitions 
of  debauchery  and  gluttony. 

Such,  according  to  the  writer's  sincere  belief,  are  some  of  the 
more  prominent  characteristics  of  the  race  encountered  by  the 
Puritan  fathers  of  New  England  when  they  landed  on  the  shores 
of  Cape  Cod  and  sought  to  establish  for  themselves  a  home  in  a 
new  and  unknown  land.  Although  more  peaceful  than  most  of 
the  tribes  of  other  localities,  the  Indians  of  the  Atlantic  coast  in 
New  England  were  not  less  fierce  when  aroused  to  anger  or  when 
inspired  to  deeds  of  savagery  through  wantonness  and  instinctive 
hatred  of  the  pale-faced  race.  Champlain  first  welcomed  the 
Indians  with  a  volley  of  bullets,  a  policy  that  was  pursued  by 
nearly  all  his  civilized  successors.  It  is  not  denied  that  the 
Indians  possessed  redeeming  characteristics,  but  they  were  so 
strongly  dominated  by  their  barbarous  manner  of  life  and  savage 
traits  that  years  of  faithful  missionary  labor  among  them  was 
productive  of  little  real  benefit. 

And  whatever  is  true  of  any  one  nation  of  Indians  in  this 
respect  is  true  of  nearly  all  others.  To  the  English  the  Mohi- 
cans Avere  knoAvn  as  a  peaceful,  friendly  and  domestic  people, 
yet  nearly  all  early  efforts  for  their  conversion  to  Christianity 
were  unsatisfactory.  No  strong  controlling  influence  for  good 
Avas  obtained  among  any  of  the  tribes  previous  to  the  time  of  Sir 
AVilliam  Johnson  (the  first  superintendent  of  Indian  affairs  in 
America),  and  even  then  it  is  doubtful  whether  they  were  not 
moved  more  by  the  power  of  purchase  than  by  love  of  right. 

Kegarding  the  origin  of  the  New  England  Indians,  no  relia- 
ble authority  expresses  a  positive  opinion.  Unlike  the  Iroquois 
of  New^  York,  or  the  DelaAvares  of  Pennsylvania  and  the  south, 
the  savages  living  east  of  the  Hudson  had  no  ancestral  traditions, 
yet  some  writers  are  inclined  to  the  belief  that  the  tribes  scat- 
tered along  the  coast  were  of  Delaware  or  Lenni  Lenape  (mean- 
ing Original  People)  origin,  and  that  they  separated  from  the 
parent  body  and  crossed  over  the  river  into  the  country  to  the 
eastward  previous  to  the  formation  of  the  Iroquois  league,  or  the 

(       22       ) 


THE  INDIANS 

confederacy  known  in  history  as  the  Five  Nations.  The  Iroquois 
and  the  Lenni  Lenapes  Avere  for  centuries  avowed  enemies,  and 
in  the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century  the  former  made 
war  upon  and  subjugated  the  latter,  and  ever  afterward  were 
their  acknowledged  masters ;  but  it  does  not  appear  that  the 
vengeful  Iroquois  ever  waged  war  against  the  tribes  along  the 
New  England  coast  or  sought  to  bring  them  into  subjection.  Nor 
were  they  in  any  respect  considered  allies  of  the  Iroquois,  but 
appear  to  have  been  regarded  as  a  neutral  people,  who  warred 
only  among  themselves  previous  to  the  advent  of  the  whites. 

When  the  region  comprising  New  England  was  first  explored 
by  the  colonists  the  Indian  tribes  were  located  and  known  about 
as  follows :  In  the  lower  Housatonic  country  were  the  Pedunks, 
while  to  the  northward,  between  the  Housatonic  mountains  and 
the  Berkshire  hills,  dwelt  the  Stockbridge  Indians,  so-called,  but 
presumably  an  offshoot  from  the  most  eastern  body  of  the  Mo- 
hawks, although  their  real  origin,  like  that  of  the  Pedunks,  is 
quite  in  doubt,  notwithstanding  the  opinions  of  various  writers. 
The  Pequots  (sometimes  called  Pequods)  occupied  the  lower 
Connecticut  valley  and  the  territory  immediately  eastward.  In 
Rhode  Island  were  the  Narragansetts,  one  of  the  most  numerous 
and  untamable  tribes  in  the  New  England  region,  while  north  of 
them  and  in  the  order  named  were  the  Pokanockets,  the  Nip- 
mucks,  the  Massachusetts  and  the  Pawtuckets.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  the  Pedunks,  the  Stockbridges  and  the  Nipmucks,  the 
tribes  inhabiting  the  coast  were  claimed  to  be  of  Lenni  Lenape 
descent,  while  those  of  New  Hampshire  and  Maine  undoubtedly 
were  of  Abenakis,  or  Abenaquie,  origin,  and  whose  ancestors 
came  from  the  lower  St.  Lawrence  regions  of  Canada.  The 
Mohicans,  famed  in  song  and  story,  one  of  the  exceptionally 
friendly  tribes,  dwelt,  during  the  latter  part  of  the  seventeenth 
century,  in  northern  Connecticut,  east  of  the  river  of  that  name. 

The  Connecticut  river  Indians,  especially  those  who  inhab- 
ited the  valley  north  of  the  country  of  the  Pequots,  probably 
were  of  Algonquin  (Canadian)  ancestry,  but  the  time  of  their 
emigration  from  their  northern  possessions  cannot  now  be  deter- 
mined.    Their  habits  and  customs,  Avhile  not  wholly  unlike  those 

(       23       ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

who  occupied  other  portions  of  New  England,  were  much  the 
same  as  of  the  Canadian  Indians,  yet  by  long  association  and 
intermarriages  with  the  dusky  inhabitants  of  the  coast  region 
they  adopted  the  mode  of  life  of  the  latter.  In  the  earlj-  wars 
with  the  colonists  they  fled  toward  the  Canadas  when  pursued, 
and  they  likewise  joined  with  the  Canadian  Indians  when  the 
latter  invaded  the  frontier  settlements  of  the  whites.  They 
never  were  allies  of  the  Mohawks,  as  some  authorities  have  stated, 
but  occasionally  were  visited  with  the  vengeance  of  the  latter, 
who  were  for  centuries  at  deadly  enmity  with  the  Algonquins 
and  their  allies. 

Of  the  tribes  in  the  valley  none  were  numerically  strong, 
and  they  generally  took  names  suited  to  the  locality  in  Avhich 
the}'  lived.  Their  dialect  was  the  same  and  to  the  whites  they 
were  known  as  separate  bands  of  the"  same  nation.  On  the  site 
of  Springfield  there  were  the  Agawams,  whose  tribal  name  is 
preserved  in  a  flourishing  town ;  at  ATestfield,  in  a  region  con- 
tiguous to  the  river  valley,  were  the  Woronokes :  at  Northampton 
and  Hadley  were  the  Nonotucks ;  at  Deerfield  were  the  Pocom- 
tucks ;  at  Northfield  were  the  Squakheags :  at  Brookfield,  east  of 
the  valley  proper,  were  the  Quaboags ;  at  Windsor  were  the 
Massacoes,  and  at  Charlestown  were  the  INIishawams. 

These  Indians  at  best  were  a  lawless,  treacherous  and  un- 
trustworthy horde,  and  never  during  all  their  long  intercourse 
with  the  whites  did  they  secure  the  absolute  confidence  of  the 
latter.  The  Puritans  and  their  immediate  followers  treated 
them  with  the  greatest  consideration,  and  in  the  treaties  for  the 
purchase  of  their  lands  they  were  satisfied  with  the  compensation 
offered ;  and  in  many  cases  where  lands  were  acquired  from  them 
the  actual  consideration  frequently  was  more  than  doubled  by 
subsequent  gifts. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  the  natives  regarded  the  laud  as  of  little 
value  to  themselves  and  readily  parted  with  their  title  for  a  few 
strings  of  wampum,  a  number  of  hatchets  and  an  assortment  of 
blankets,  trinkets  and  other  notions  that  most  struck  the  savage 
fancy.  In  no  case  were  they  deceived  into  parting  with  their 
possessions,  and  no  unfair  means  were  resorted  to  by  the  colonists 

(       24       ) 


THE  IXDIANS 

to  accomplish  that  end.  The  period  of  treachery  and  deceit  on 
the  part  of  the  whites  in  extinguishing  Indian  titles  was  much 
later  than  that  of  which  we  write,  and  in  the  history  of  the  early 
settlement  in  the  Connecticut  valley  the  much  vaunted  claim,  put 
forth  by  some  chroniclers  of  contemporary  events,  that  "little 
importance  should  be  attached  to  treaties  in  which  the  untutored 
savages  were  pitted  again  intelligent  Europeans,"  is  of  no  effect, 
as  it  had  no  foundation  in  fact.  In  the  Massachusetts  province 
"justice  and  the  faith  and  restraints  of  treaties"  were  not 
"subordinate  to  the  lusts  of  power  and  expediency." 

William  Pynchon  and  his  followers,  who  came  into  the  Con- 
necticut valley  in  1636  and  founded  a  plantation  on  the  site  of 
Springfield,  purchased  land  from  the  Agawams,  and  in  addition 
to  the  price  paid  they  clothed,  fed  and  warmed  the  natives,  and 
sought  by  every  means  to  establish  friendly  relations  with  them ; 
but  at  the  same  time  they  prudently  constructed  a  fort  of  suffi- 
cient strength  to  assure  a  safe  refuge  for  all  the  settlers  within 
the  plantation ;  and  in  later  years,  when  the  settlement  had  in- 
creased in  numbers,  two  other  stockade  fortresses  were  added  as 
a  means  of  still  further  security  against  Indian  attacks.  Subse- 
quent events  proved  the  wisdom  of  this  precaution,  for  the  settle- 
ment at  Springfield  was  attacked,  the  buildings  plundered  and 
burned,  the  lands  laid  waste,  and  a  ruthless  slaughter  of  the  in- 
habitants was  only  prevented  by  the  defensive  strength  of  Fort 
Pynchon.  And  when  plantations  were  extended  up  and  down 
the  valley  and  into  the  interior  regions  east  and  w^est  of  the  river, 
the  pioneers  first  provided  a  strong  stockade  fort  for  the  common 
protection  of  their  families.  In  course  of  time  each  of  these 
settlements  was  attacked  and  suffered  loss  of  life  and  property 
at  the  hands  of  the  savages.  These  attacks,  while  perhaps  not 
provoked  by  the  Connecticut  river  Indians,  were  nevertheless 
participated  in  by  them,  and  their  professed  friendship  for  the 
whites  counted  for  nothing. 

In  justice,  however,  to  the  Indian  tribes  of  the  Connecticut 
valley  it  may  be  said  that  for  many  years  they  maintained  friend- 
ly relations  with  the  whites  and  that  frequently  they  lent  succor 
to  distressed  settlements ;  and  occasions  are  not  wanting  in  which 

(       25       ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

some  of  the  friendly  tribes  took  up  arms  and  fought  battles  as 
allies  of  the  colonists  against  a  dusky  foe. 

After  the  advent  of  the  Avhite  man  the  highest  aim  of  the 
Indian  was  the  ownership  of  a  gun  and  ammunition,  and  a  free 
license  to  indulge  his  appetite  for  liquor.  The  English  colonists 
used  every  possible  means  to  keep  these  instruments  of  death 
from  the  natives,  and  the  general  court  enacted  stringent  laws  to 
prevent  the  traffic ;  and  while  these  laws  Avere  generally  obeyed 
they  were  occasionally  violated  even  in  the  New  England  colonies. 
The  Dutch  in  the  Netherlands  became  rich  in  trading  guns  and 
gin  to  the  Indians  in  exchange  for  furs,  and  previous  to  the  over- 
throw of  their  power  in  America,  they  furnished  these  double 
weapons  of  destruction  to  the  Connecticut  Indians  for  the  very 
purpose  of  inciting  the  latter  against  the  New  Englanders.  It 
Avas,  hoAvever,  a  pernicious  practice,  steadily  adhered  to,  and 
resulted  disastrously  to  the  American  colonists.  iThe  Indian 
loved  liquor  next  to  life  itself,  and  in  a  drunken  condition  he 
kncAV  no  restraint  AvhateA'er.  But  be  it  said  to  the  enduring 
honor  of  the  English  colonists  that  they  opposed  this  unholy 
traffic  Avith  every  knoAvn  means  of  legislation,  severe  penalties 
and  moral  influence. 

Having  thus  referred  at  some  length  in  preceding  chapters 
to  the  contests  of  European  nations  for  supremacy  in  America, 
and  also  to  the  tribal  names,  location  and  something  of  the  life 
and  traits  of  the  Indians  aa'Iio  Avere  the  original  possessors  of  the 
territory  in  Ncav  England,  it  is  proper  that  the  succeeding  chap- 
ter be  devoted  to  a  brief  narrative  of  the  events  of  planting  col- 
onies and  extending  settlements  in  the  region. 


(       26       ) 


CHAPTER  IV 

COLONIZATION    AND    SETTLEMENT 

English  Colonization  and  Settlement  in  America — Tlie  Plymouth 
and  London  Companies — Landing  of  the  Pilgrims — Distress 
in  the  Colony — Massasoit's  Generosity — Accessions  to  the  Col- 
ony— Plantations  Founded  in  the  Connecticut  Valley — The 
Colony  at  Agawam— Springfield  F ounded— Independent  Gov- 
ernment for  Connecticut  River  Plantations — Springfield  re- 
turns to  Massachusetts  Jurisdiction — Four  Counties  Incorpor- 
ated—Springfield not  Included. 

In  1606,  James  I,  of  England,  di\dded  his  possessions  in 
America,  between  degrees  34  and  45,  north  latitude,  into  two 
parts  and  granted  them,  the  south  part  to  the  London  company, 
and  the  north  part  to  the  Plymouth  company,  the  territory  of  the 
latter  extending  from  the  38th  to  the  45th  parallel,  and  from  the 
Atlantic  to  the  Pacific  ocean.  In  the  same  year  the  Plymouth 
company  fitted  out  a  vessel  for  the  purpose  of  sending  a  party  to 
colonize  their  lands,  but  the  ship  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Span- 
iards who  then  were  at  war  with  England. 

In  1607  the  London  company  made  a  successful  attempt  at 
founding  a  colony  in  America.  A  fleet  of  three  ships  Avith  one 
hundred  and  five  men  was  sent  to  the  country  and  established  a 
permanent  settlement  at  Jamestown,  Virginia.  In  the  same  year 
the  Plymouth  company  sent  Admiral  Gilbert  with  a  party  of  one 
hundred  planters,  under  instructions  to  establish  a  colony  within 
the  boundaries  of  the  company's  grant,  to  make  improvements 
and  prepare  the  way  for  future  colonization  and  settlement  of  the 
region.     This  party  touched  the  coast  of  Maine  near  the  mouth 

(       27       ) 


OUB  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

of  the  Kennebec,  where  forty-five  men  were  landed  and  began 
the  construction  of  a  storehouse.  Captain  George  Popham  was 
their  president,  or  commander,  and  directed  the  work  of  improve- 
ment. The  others,  however,  soon  became  discouraged,  aban- 
doned the  scheme  and  returned  to  England.  Those  who  re- 
mained suffered  greatly  from  the  severities  of  the  winter,  and,  to 
add  to  their  misfortunes,  the  storehouse  was  destroyed  by  fire, 
their  president  died,  and  early  in  the  next  year  the  survivors  re- 
turned to  England.  Thus  ended  the  first  attempt  to  found  a 
colony  in  New  England,  and  no  further  effort  in  the  same  direc- 
tion was  made  for  a  period  of  twelve  years. 

In  1602  a  little  band  of  dissenters  from  the  tenets  and  exac- 
tions of  the  church  of  Rome  left  their  homes  in  the  south  part  of 
England  and  took  up  an  abode  in  Leyden,  Avhere,  under  the  lead- 
ership of  John  Robinson,  they  dwelt  and  worshipped  after  their 
own  ideas  of  duty  and  christian  humility.  In  England  they  had 
suffered  all  manner  of  religious  persecution,  and  had  exiled 
themselves  from  it,  but  in  Holland  they  found  themselves  and 
their  youth  exposed  to  unwholesome  and  contaminating  moral 
influences  hardly  less  dangerous  than  those  from  which  they  pre- 
viously had  hoped  to  escape.  They,  therefore,  resolved  to  flee 
from  Europe  and  establish  a  new  home  in  America,  where  they 
might  worship  and  live  in  the  light  of  their  own  religious  convic- 
tions. The  resolution  to  depart  was  adopted  in  1619,  and  on 
September  6,  1620,  a  band  of  one  hundred  devout  Puritans  set 
sail  from  Southampton  in  the  Mayflower,  bound  for  the  English 
settlement  in  Virginia,  in  the  territory  of  the  London  company. 

However,  through  the  ignorance  or  treachery^  (probably  the 

^According  to  Hutchinson's  narrative,  tlie  Dutcli  endeavored  to  persuade  the 
Pilgrims  to  join  the  West  India  colony  at  New  Amsterdam,  but  they  preferred  to 
settle  in  Virginia,  and  made  application  for  a  land  patent  in  that  region,  which 
was  refused.  In  order  to  assure  the  London  company  that  they  were  able  to 
found  and  maintain  their  colony  the  Pilgrims  offered  the  declaration  "that  they 
were  well  weaned  from  the  delicate  milk  of  the  mother  country,  and  enured  to  the 
difficulties  of  a  strange  land  ;  that  they  were  knit  together  in  a  strict  and  sacred 
bond,  by  virtue  of  which  they  held  themselves  bound  to  take  good  care  of  each 
other,  and  of  the  whole ;  that  it  was  not  with  them  as  with  other  men,  whom 
small  things  could  discourage,  or  small  discontents  cause  to  wish  themselves 
home  again."  Hutchinson  also  says  the  Pilgrims  intended  to  land  near  the 
mouth  of  the  Hudson  river,  but  that  the  Dutch  had  bribed  their  pilot,  who  car- 
ried them  much  farther  north. 

(       28       ) 


COLONIZATIOX  AND  SETTLEMENT 

latter)  of  the  master  of  the  vessel,  on  November  9,  of  the  same 
year,  the  Puritans  (Pilgrims,  they  were  more  aptly  called,  having 
made  the  pilgrimage  from  England  to  Holland  and  thence  to 
America)  fonnd  themselves  at  anchor  off  the  bleak  and  barren 
coast  of  Cape  Cod,  within  the  territory  of  the  Plymouth  company 
and  hundreds  of  miles  from  the  English  settlement  in  Virginia, 
where  they  had  hoped  to  land. 

Disappointed,  but  not  wholly  disheartened,  the  Pilgrims 
determined  to  land  and  brave  the  severities  of  approaching  win- 
ter in  the  desolate  region,  surrounded  with  a  race  of  savages 
whose  strength  and  temper  they  kneAV  not.  Before  leaving  the 
ship  they  entered  into  a  solemn  compact  to  combine  themselves 
together  in  a  civil  body  politic,  "for  our  better  ordering  and 
preservation  ;  and  by  virtue  hereof  to  enact,  constitute  and  frame 
such  just  laws,  ordinances,  constitutions  and  offices  as  from  time 
to  time  shall  be  most  meet  and  convenient  for  the  general  good  of 
the  colony;  unto  which  we  promise  all  due  submission  and  obe- 
dience. ' ' 

It  was  a  simple  yet  effective  contract  and  was  steadfastly 
observed  by  all  the  Pilgrim  fathers,  also  by  many  of  their  Puri- 
tan followers,  and  was  the  cornerstone  of  the  constitution  of  the 
commonwealth  of  Massachusetts  in  later  years.  John  Carver 
was  chosen  governor  of  the  colony,  and  on  November  21,  the 
Pilgrims  left  their  ship  and  knelt  on  Plymouth  Rock.  They 
named  the  place  New  Plymouth,  in  allusion  to  Plymouth,  in  Eng- 
land. 

During  the  winter  which  followed  the  landing  of  the  Pil- 
grims the  members  of  the  brave  band  suffered  untold  hardships 
from  the  severity  of  weather,  lack  of  proper  clothing  and  food, 
from  sickness  and  death.  Their  leader  and  governor,  John  Carver, 
was  one  of  fifty-five  who  died  from  sickness  and  exposure ;  and 
when  in  distress  and  almost  utter  starvation  the  survivors  were 
reduced  to  the  greatest  extremity,  their  sufferings  M^ere  unex- 
pectedly relieved  by  the  generous  assistance  of  Massasoit,  sachem 
of  the  Pokanokets,  or  AYampanoags,  who  gave  them  food  and 
succor,  and  who  indeed  proved  as  steadfast  in  his  friendship  as 
his  son,  King  Philip,  in  later  years  proved  merciless  and  devilish 
in  his  enmity. 

(       29       ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

Notwithstanding  the  vicissitudes  which  attended  the  first 
year  of  life  in  the  Plymouth  colony,  frequent  accessions  were 
made  to  the  number  of  settlers,  and  in  1622,  upon  the  arrival  of 
the  half  hundred  and  more  men  brought  from  England  by  Mr. 
Weston,  the  London  merchant,  the  latter  soon  branched  out  from 
the  parent  colony  and  founded  a  plantation  at  Weymouth.  This 
party,  from  all  historical  accounts,  was  less  conscientious  than 
many  of  its  predecessors,  and  soon  became  involved  in  a  contro- 
versy with  the  Indians  Avhich  threatened  the  safety  of  all  the  New 
England  colonists  of  whatever  creed.  It  was  the  first  breach  of 
faith  and  propriety  on  the  part  of  the  New  Englanders,  and  was 
inexcusable,  even  on  the  ground  of  dire  necessity. 

In  1624  a  settlement  was  made  at  Cape  Ann,  and  in  1628  a 
colony  of  more  than  two  hundred  persons  was  planted  at  Salem, 
where  also  the  second  church  in  New  England  was  established. 
From  this  time  settlement  increased  rapidly,  and  within  the  next 
two  years  colonies  were  founded  at  Charlestown,  Dorchester, 
Roxbury  and  Boston.  In  1629  the  government  of  the  Plymouth 
colony,  which  previously  had  been  administered  in  England, 
was,  through  the  grace  of  his  majesty.  King  Charles,  and  the 
address  of  John  Winthrop,  transferred  to  New  England.  An 
election  of  officers  was  ordered,  and  in  1630  Governor  AVinthrop 
and  his  deputy,  Thomas  Dudley  (chosen  to  succeed  John  Hum- 
frey,  the  original  deputy),  came  over  from  England  in  a  numer- 
ous fleet.  The  first  general  court  was  assembled  in  Boston,  where 
the  freemen  attended  in  person.  They  builded  better  than  they 
knew,  and  in  that  informal  attempt  to  establish  a  government 
for  a  scattered  handful  of  colonists,  they  in  fact  laid  the  found- 
ation for  one  of  the  most  stable  and  enlightened  systems  of  state 
government  known  to  the  history  of  America. 

The  transfer  of  the  seat  of  government  of  the  New  England 
colonies  had  the  effect  to  increase  the  tide  of  emigration  from  the 
mother  country  to  such  an  extent  that  the  ero^\Ta  began  to  devise 
measures  to  prevent  further  loss  of  home  population,  but  without 
material  results.  Almost  every  month  witnessed  the  arrival  of 
fresh  shiploads  of  immigrants,  while  still  other  vessels  brought 
cattle  and  merchandise.     At  length  the  settled  localities  along 

(       30       ) 


COLONIZATION  AND  SETTLEMENT 

the  coast  began  to  show  evidence  of  overcrowding,  and  many  of 
the  more  determined  planters  turned  their  faces  toward  the 
interior  portions  of  the  country,  in  the  direction  of  the  river 
^'Quoneticut"  (Long  Kiver),  as  known  to  the  Indians  who  first 
■described  that  fertile  region  to  the  whites. 

Having  thus  laid  the  foundation  for  civilized  white  settle- 
ment in  the  Connecticut  valley,  it  can  hardly  be  considered  with- 
in tlie  scope  of  our  present  work  to  refer  at  greater  length  to  the 
outspreading  of  the  home  colonies  in  the  north  and  south  regions 
of  New  England,  or  to  the  founding  of  plantations  that  led  to 
the  establishment  of  colonies  and  the  subsequent  states  of  Connec- 
ticut, Rhode  Island,  New  Hampshire  and  Maine,  or  to  the  various 
■causes  that  led  to  the  division  of  the  mother  colonies  and  the  form- 
ation of  new  ones ;  but  rather  we  may  more  properly  direct  atten- 
tion to  the  events  which  led  to  the  establishment  of  plantations  in 
the  Connecticut  valley,  to  the  creation  of  a  new  county  under  the 
name  of  Hampshire,  to  the  settlement  and  civil  organization  of 
that  jurisdiction,  and  to  the  trials  and  hardships  and  ultimate 
•successes  of  the  inhabitants  within  its  boundaries. 

According  to  the  opinion  of  the  best  chroniclers  of  New 
England  history,  the  vast  region  of  country  known  as  the 
Connecticut  valley  in  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  became 
known  to  the  white  settlers  of  the  eastern  plantations  about  the 
year  1631,  through  information  furnished  them  by  the  Indians, 
who  for  years  had  roamed  undisturbed  throughout  the  country 
east  of  the  Hudson  river.  The  Dutch,  however,  were  first  in  the 
locality,  according  to  reliable  authority,  about  1614,  five  years 
after  their  colony  had  been  established  on  Manhattan  Island. 
They  were  traders,  buying  from  the  natives  large  quantities  of 
furs,  and  as  their  possessions,  as  claimed  under  Hudson's  dis- 
coveries, extended  east  to  Cape  Cod,  it  was  only  natural  that  they 
■should  barter  with  the  inhabitants  of  the  valley,  where  beaver 
were  known  to  abound.  Yet  the  Dutch  made  no  attempt  to 
occupy  the  land  previous  to  the  advent  of  the  English  in  that 
locality,  information  of  which  was  conveyed  to  them  by  the 
Indians,  who  had  more  regard  for  them  than  for  the  English,  as 
the  former  supplied  them  with  guns  and  rum  while  the  latter 

(       31       ) 


OVB  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

could  not  do  so  under  penalty  of  the  rigid  laws  of  the  general 
court. 

In  the  latter  part  of  1633  two  settlers  of  the  Dorchester 
colony  visited  the  Connecticut  valley,  and  found  one  of  the 
grandest  regions  that  ever  awaited  the  approach  of  civilization ; 
with  climate  and  soil  diversified  by  the  most  remote  extremes,  a 
wilderness  of  beauty  and  fertility  ready  to  be  transformed  into  a 
productive  agricultural  settlement. 

The  Dorchester  explorers,  the  advance  guard  of  civilization 
in  the  valley,  were  hospitably  received  by  the  Indians  in  their 
village.  On  the  cleared  flat  lands  bordering  on  the  river  w^ere 
plenty  of  evidences  of  cultivation,  and  growing  crops  of  corn 
and  hemp  were  found  in  the  vicinity.  The  river  was  well 
stocked  with  fish  of  large  size  and  excellent  quality,  and  the 
surrounding  forests  abounded  in  valuable  game  and  fur-bearing 
animals. 

In  the  same  year  a  party  from  the  Plymouth  colony  explored 
the  country  between  their  plantation  and  the  Connecticut,  touch- 
ing the  latter  where  now  stands  AA^indsor.  Here  William  Holmes, 
a  trader,  built  a  cabin  and  inclosed  it  within  a  stockade,  and  then 
began  traffic  with  the  natives.  In  the  same  year  and  just  before 
the  visit  of  the  Plymouth  party,  the  Dutch  from  the  Netherlands 
constructed  a  rude  earthworks  at  the  place  called  "Dutch  Point" 
(now  Hartford),  for  the  ostensible  purpose  of  disputing  the  right 
of  the  New  Englanders  in  the  vicinity,  or  their  right  to  passage 
up  and  down  the  river.  But  the  opposition  of  the  Dutch  did 
not  prove  a  serious  menace  to  the  peace  and  safety  of  the  settlers 
from  the  eastern  colonies,  and  was  soon  withdrawn.  , 

In  1634  many  of  the  planters  in  New  England  took  steps 
tOAvard  founding  new  settlements  in  the  Connecticut  valley,  and 
to  that  end  sent  out  prospecting  parties  to  explore  the  region, 
select  favorable  sites  and  negotiate  terms  of  purchase  with  the 
Indians.  In  the  meantime  those  who  thus  proposed  to  branch  out 
from  the  parent  colonies  presented  their  petitions  to  the  general 
court  for  permission  to  remove.  The  only  point  in  doubt  in  the 
minds  of  the  governing  authorities  was  whether  the  proposed  new 
region  of  settlement  was  within  the  jurisdiction  of  Massachusetts. 

(       33       ) 


COLONIZATION  AND  SETTLEMENT 

Bay,  and  when  consent  was  finally  given  the  settlers  were  espe- 
cially enjoined  not  to  remove  beyond  the  boundaries  or  jurisdic- 
tion of  the  general  court. 

In  1635,  the  request  of  the  petitioners  having  been  granted, 
the  tide  of  emigration  set  AvestAvard,  and  in  the  same  year  several 
new  plantations  were  founded  in  the  valley.  The  Dorchester 
people  settled  at  Windsor,  the  Watertown  people  at  Wethers- 
field,  the  Cambridge  people  at  Hartford,  and  the  Roxbury  people 
at  AgaAvam,  or,  by  their  removal  soon  afterward  to  the  east  side 
of  the  river,  at  Springfield.  It  is  with  the  latter  colony  and  its 
subsequent  branches  and  offshoots  in  the  region  now  called 
Hampden  county  that  Ave  have  particularly  to  deal  in  this  Avork. 

AVithin  fifteen  years  after  the  landing  of  the  Pilgrims  no 
less  than  fourteen  permanent  colonies  had  been  founded  in  the 
province  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  Avhile  nearly  as  many  more  were 
scattered  throughout  the  territory  noAv  comprising  the  states  of 
NeAv  Hampshire,  Maine,  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut. 

In  1634  a  number  of  men  in  authority  and  several  planters 
of  the  Roxbury  colony  determined  to  found  a  ncAv  settlement  on 
the  banks  of  the  Connecticut  river,  and  preparatory  to  that  end, 
according  to  the  opinion  of  reliable  Avriters,  William  Pynchon 
(one  of  the  original  founders  of  Roxbury  and  the  founder  in  fact 
of  Springfield),  Henry  Smith,  son-in-law  of  Pynchon,  and  Jehu 
Burr,  visited  the  region  and  made  a  selection  of  lands  upon  Avhich 
to  begin  improvements.  In  the  folloAAdng  year  John  Cable  and 
John  AVoodruff  Avere  sent  to  the  place  and  erected  a  house  on  the 
Avest  side  of  the  Connecticut,  south  of  AgaA\^am  river,  and  in  the 
tOAvn  Avhicli  noAV  bears  the  latter  name.  AfterAvard,  hoAvever, 
having  been  informed  by  the  Indians  that  the  lands  in  the 
"Agawam  meadoAv"  Avere  subject  to  overflow  from  the  river,  the 
site  of  the  plantation  Avas  changed  to  the  east  side  of  the  Con- 
necticut, Avhere  a  ncAv  house  Avas  erected. 

In  the  early  spring  of  1636,  Mr.  Pynchon  and  his  associates 
sent  their  goods  and  effects  in  Governor  AA^inthrop's  vessel,  the 
"Blessing  of  the  Bay,"  which  sailed  from  Boston,  April  26,  to 
the  mouth  of  the  Connecticut  river,  and  thence  up  that  stream  to 
the  site  of  the  proposed  plantation.  .  The  pioneers  themselves  set 


3-1 


(       33       ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

out  on  foot  and  early  in  May  reached  their  destination.  On  the 
14th  of  that  month  they  entered  into  an  agreement  regarding  the 
disposition  and  allotment  of  the  land  and  their  future  conduct 
in  the  plantation.  The  signers  of  the  compact  were  AYilliam 
Pynchon,  Nath.  ]\Iitehell  Henrj'  Smith,  Jehu  Burr,  William 
Blake,  Edmund  Wood,  Thomas  Utford  and  John  Clark.  On 
July  15,  a  treaty  of  purchase  was  made  with  the  Indians,  the 
conveyance  bearing  the  names  or  symbols  of  thirteen  chiefs  and 
sachems.  The  grantees  named  were  William  Pynchon,  Henry 
Smith  and  Jehu  Burr  and  their  associates. 

Thus  was  founded  the  first  permanent  white  settlement  in 
the  Connecticut  valley  in  Massachusetts,  or  in  old  Hampshire 
county,  an  event  antedating  the  incorporation  of  the  county  itself 
by  sixteen  years,  and  antedating  the  creation  of  Hampden  county 
by  more  than  a  century  and  three-fourths.  But  this  was  only  the 
beginning  of  development  and  settlement  in  the  region,  for  not- 
withstanding the  serious  Indian  troubles  which  began  the  very 
next  year,  a  steady  stream  of  settlers  was  pouring  into  the 
valley,  and  the  plantation  at  Springfield  soon  began  to  enlarge 
and  extend  into  other  localities,  until  at  length  it  became  territori- 
ally almost  a  principality.  Under  the  authority  of  the  general 
court,  Mr.  Pynchon  was  clothed  with  judicial  powers,  and  a  mag- 
istrate's court  was  maintained  in  the  plantation  until  the  incor- 
poration of  Hampshire  county  in  1662,  when  a  more  formal 
system  of  local  government  was  established. 

As  a  matter  of  fact  the  general  court  granted  permission  to 
plant  new  colonies  in  the  Connecticut  valley  only  after  consider- 
able hesitation,  as  the  region  in  question  then  was  supposed  to  be 
beyond  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  province.  On 
this  point  Mr.  Hutchinson's  history  furnishes  an  interesting 
statement  of  conditions  of  settlement  in  the  valley,  and  from  his 
narrative  we  quote  as  follows: 

"This  year  also  [1641]  the  plantation  at  Springfield,  upon 
the  Connecticut  river,  returned  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  ]\Iassa- 
chusetts.  In  the  year  1636,  as  has  been  observed,  the  towns  or 
settlements  on  Connecticut  river  began.  The  inhabitants  of  the 
towns  of  Roxbury,  Dorchester,  Cambridge  and  Watertown,  in 

(       34       ) 


COLOMZATION  AND  SETTLE3IENT 

the  Massachusetts,  laid  the  foundation  of  the  colony  of  Connecti- 
cut. Mr.  AYilliam  Pynchon,  being  the  principal  person  among 
those  from  Koxbury  who  had  pitched  upon  a  place  higher  up  the 
river  than  the  rest,  called  by  the  Indians  Agawam,  he  changed 
the  name  to  Springfield.  (At  first  they  called  the  new  settle- 
ments by  the  names  of  the  towns  they  had  left  in  the  Bay.)  His 
mansion  house  was  at  a  town  of  that  name  in  England,  near  to 
Chelmsford,  in  Essex.  Those  from  Dorchester  pitched  upon  a 
place  below,  called  by  the  Indians  Mattaneaug  or  Cushankamaug. 
Mr.  Ludlow  was  the  principal  person  who  removed  with  them. 
Mr.  AVarham,  their  minister,  and  the  whole  church  followed  the 
next  year.  They  called  their  settlement  Windsor.  The  Cam- 
bridge people,  with  Mr.  Hooker  and  Mr.  Stone,  their  ministers, 
and  jNIr.  Haynes,  who  the  year  before  had  been  governor  at  their 
head,  were  seated  next  below  at  a  place  called  Suckiang,  which 
they  changed  into  Hartford,  the  place  of  INIr.  Stone's  nativity  in 
England. ' ' 

"A  few  miles  below  there  was  another  tract  of  interval  land 
called  by  the  Indians  Pauquiang,  which  those  of  Hartford  in- 
tended to  have  included  in  their  settlement;  but  a  few  of  the 
Watertown  people  were  too  quick  for  them.  They  gave  it  the 
name  of  Wethersfield.  The  commission  which  they  took  from 
the  Massachusetts  was  of  a  pretty  extraordinary  nature.  The 
preamble  to  it  acknowledges  that  the  lands  which  they  intended 
to  take  possession  of  were  without  the  commouM-ealth  and  body 
of  the  Massachusetts,  and  that  certain  noble  personages  in  Eng- 
land, by  virtue  of  a  patent,  challenged  the  jurisdiction  there ;  but 
their  minds  not  being  known  as  to  a  form  of  government,  and 
there  being  a  necessity  that  some  authority  should  be  established, 
they  therefore  appointed  Koger  Ludlow,  Esq.,  William  Pynchon, 
Esq.,  John  Steele,  William  Swaine,  Henry  Smith,  William 
Phelps,  William  Westwood  and  Andre^v  Warner,  with  full  power 
and  authority  to  hear  and  determine  between  party  and  party,  to 
inflict  corporal  punishment,  imprisonment  and  fines,  and  to  make 
and  decree  orders  for  the  present  as  shall  be  necessary  for  the 
plantation,  relative  to  trading,  planting,  building,  military  disci- 
pline and  defensive  war,  if  need  require,  and  to  convene  the  in- 

(       35       ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

habitants  in  general  court  if  it  should  be  thought  meet;  the  com- 
mission to  continue  no  longer  than  one  year,  and  to  be  recalled  if 
a  form  of  government  could  be  agreed  upon  between  the  noble 
personages,  the  inhabitants,  and  the  commonwealth  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts." 

''There  would  be  no  accounting  for  this  stretch  of  power," 
says  Mr.  Hutchinson,  "were  it  not  for  a  principle  at  that  time 
generally  received  [accepted],  and  which  upon  a  question  was 
determined  some  years  after  by  the  general  court,  some  of  the 
members  dissenting,  that  the  oath  of  fidelity  to  the  commonwealth 
was  binding  even  though  the  person  should  no  longer  reside  with- 
in the  limits." 

"Notwithstanding  this  commission,  they  soon  after  entered 
into  an  agreement  or  combination  by  virtue  of  which  they  called 
themselves  a  body  politic,  formed  and  established  by  mutual 
consent,  and  framed  such  laws  and  constitutions  as  they  thought 
necessary ;  the  most  material  point  in  which  they  differed  from 
the  Massachusetts  was  the  not  making  membership  of  their 
churches  necessary  to  freedom  in  the  civil  government  or  the 
holding  of  any  offices  therein.  Upon  the  petition  of  Mr.  Pynchon 
and  others  to  revive  them  again,  an  order  passed  asserting  the 
court's  right,  and  a  commission  was  granted  to  Mr.  Pynchon  to 
hold  courts  there,  from  whose  judgments  an  appeal  lay  to  the 
court  of  assistants." 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  inhabitants  of  the  Connecticut  river 
plantations  considered  themselves  not  a  part  of  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  province,  but  rather  an  independent 
body  politic,  created  for  the  purpose  of  self-government  and  self- 
defense.  This  association  was  known  as  the  ' '  Colony  of  Connec- 
ticut,"  and  the  plantation  at  Springfield  for  several  years  was 
treated  as  a  part  of  it,  although  Mr.  Pynchon 's  people  had  no 
desire  to  separate  themselves  from  the  government  of  Massachu- 
setts.^    This  condition  prevailed,  and  was  at  times  the  occasion 

'The  question  whether  Agawam,  or  Springfield,  was  within  the  jurisdiction 
of  Massachusetts  or  Connecticut  probably  was  first  raised  when  John  Winthrop 
and  others  built  Saybrook  fort  at  the  mouth  of  the  Connecticut  and  attempted  to 
collect  toll  from  all  vessels  that  passed  the  fort,  going  up  or  down  the  river. 

(       36       ) 


COLONIZATION  AND  SETTLEMENT 

of  spirited  controversy,  for  several  years,  when  existing  differ- 
ences were  adjusted  and  the  colonies  of  Plymouth,  Massachusetts. 
Connecticut  and  New  Haven  confederated  together  "for  their 
common  protection  and  mutual  benefit,"  under  the  name  of  the 
' '  United  Colonies  of  New  England. ' ' 

In  1643  the  general  colony  of  Massachusetts  was  divided 
into  four  counties— Essex,  Middlesex,  Suffolk  and  Norfolk— each 
having  certain  towns  as  its  component  elements ;  but  in  the 
designation  of  these  towns  by  name  no  mention  was  made  of 
Springfield,  although  it  was  first  mentioned  as  a  town  and  recog- 
nized as  a  jurisdiction  having  that  character  in  1641,  the  year  of 
the  return  to  Massachusetts  authority.  It  is  possible,  however, 
from  the  fact,  as  Mr.  Hutchinson  states,  that  the  Connecticut 
river  towns  first  took  the  names  of  the  mother  towns  from  which 
came  their  pioneers,  and  that  Springfield  may  have  been  regarded 
as  a  part  of  Roxbury,  although  many  arguments  may  be  pre- 
sented to  oppose  this  theory.  It  is  said,  however,  that  the  name 
Agawam  was  changed  to  Springfield  at  a  general  meeting  of  the 
planters  held  April  14,  1640. 

The  Connecticut  towns  reluctantly  submitted  to  the  exactions,  fearing  that  other- 
wise they  might  be  disturbed  in  their  possessions  ;  but  the  colony  at  Springfield 
refused  to  pay,  and  when  the  Connecticut  authorities  attempted  to  force  payment 
the  town  appealed  to  the  Massachusetts  general  court  for  protection.  This  un- 
doubtedly was  the  so-called  "Return  of  Springfield  to  the  Massachusetts."  As  a 
matter  of  fact  Mr.  Pynchon's  planters  did  not  share  in  the  opinion  that  their 
town  was  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  colony  of  Connecticut,  although  the  latter 
so  believed,  and  even  the  Massachusetts  general  court  had  doubt  on  the  subject. 
In  the  belief  that  the  region  was  within  Connecticut,  that  people  purchased 
Woronoco  and  founded  a  plantation  there,  although  several  of  the  Springflelders 
were  interested  in  the  enterprise.  In  later  years  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut 
became  involved  in  a  serious  dispute  regarding  the  right  of  sovereignty  over  the 
region,  but  under  an  order  of  the  general  court  in  1647.  Woronoco,  including 
portions  of  Suflield.  Westfleld  and  Southwick,  were  declared  to  be  a  part  of  the 
town  of  Springfield,  and  "liable  to  pay  charges  therein." 


{       37       ) 


CHAPTER  V 

STRUGGLES    WITH    THE    INDIANS 

Dissensions  Among  the  Colonists — Beginning  of  Indian  Troubles 
—  The  Pequot  War—Narragansetts  Allied  to  the  English- 
Destruction  of  the  Pequots—An  Era  of  Peace  and  Prosperity 
—Militia  Companies  Formed  in  the  Valley— Construction  of 
Fortified  Houses— Fort  Pynchon— Events  Preceding  King 
Philip's  War— The  Outbreak— Nipmuck  Treachery  at  Brook- 
field— The  ^Var  in  the  Connecticut  Valley— Burning  of  Spring- 
field—W  est  field  Tivice  Attacked— The  A  fair  at  Longmeadow 
—Decisive  Action  by  the  Colonies— Indians  Driven  from  tlie 
Valley— Death  of  King  Philip— End  of  the  War. 

The  year  1636  was  doubly  eventful  in  the  history  of  the  New 
England  colonies.  Strifes  and  dissensions  of  a  religious  char- 
acter disturbed  the  peace  and  well  being  of  the  colonists  and  led 
to  divisions  of  sentiment  in  the  settled  plantations  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  new  ones  by  the  dissenters.  No  longer  did  the  peo- 
ple feel  themselves  bound  by  the  strict  rules  and  observances  of 
the  Pilgrim  fathers  and  their  equally  zealous  Puritan  followers, 
but  framing  new  laws  for  civil  and  religious  government  among 
themselves,  they  withdrew  from  the  parent  bodies  and  estab- 
lished plantations  in  other  localities.  Although  the  Connecti- 
cut river  plantations  were  established  in  this  year,  their  settlers 
were  not  moved  by  the  considerations  mentioned,  yet  in  those 
colonies  church  membership  was  not  a  condition  precedent  to  the 
full  privileges  of  citizenship— suffrage  and  eligibility  to  public 
office.  Indeed,  the  little  independent  body  of  colonists  who 
dared  brave  the  dangers  and  hardships  of  life  in  the  Connecticut 

(       38       ) 


STRUGGLES    V^ITE    THE   INDIANS 

valley  were  peculiarly  exempted  from  the  disturbing  influences 
that  threatened  the  peace  of  the  eastern  plantations,  yet  they 
were  engaged  in  a  struggle  not  less  important  to  themselves  and 
to  the  future  Avelfare  of  the  United  Colonies— a  struggle  to  plant 
and  maintain  civil  government  on  the  western  frontier  of  New 
England,  in  a  region  inhabited  by  various  Indian  tribes,  whose 
professions  of  peace  were  accepted  with  suspicion  and  a  loaded 
weapon  within  convenient  reach. 

In  addition  to  the  differences  which  led  to  a  division  of  the 
eastern  colonies  and  the  consequent  weakening  of  their  defensive 
strength  during  the  year,  the  inhabitants  found  just  cause  for 
still  greater  alarm  in  the  hostile  attitude  of  the  Pequot  Indians, 
Avhose  domain  in  the  southeastern  part  of  Connecticut  had  not 
then  been  invaded  by  the  onward  march  of  civilized  settlement; 
nevertheless,  prowling  bands  of  the  tribe  secretly  attacked  de- 
fenseless localities,  intercepted  traders  and  travellers  by  land  and 
by  water  and  ruthlessly  put  to  the  tomahawk  whomsoever  of  the 
whites  that  came  in  their  way ;  and  none  were  spared,  neither  men, 
Avomen  nor  children.^  On  account  of  the  disturbances  within 
their  colonies  the  whites  were  powerless  to  send  an  expedition 
against  the  Pequots  in  1636,  but  preparations  were  made  for  a 
combined  colonial  campaign  in  the  following  year. 

The  Pequots  were  a  numerous,  powerful  tribe,  and  under 
Sassacus,  their  chief,  many  atrocities  were  to  be  laid  at  their 
door.  Their  warriors  were  divided  between  two  palisaded 
strongholds,  and  each  sheltered  and  abetted  the  murdering  bauds 
of  the  other.  For  years  they  were  the  avowed  enemies  of  the 
Narragansetts,  yet  in  their  mad  frenzy  to  exterminate  the  whites, 
they  proposed  an  alliance  with  that  people.  The  offer  was  re- 
fused, and  true  to  their  enmity,  the  Narragansetts  sent  a  deputa- 
tion to  the  Massachusetts  colony  and  made  an  alliance  with  the 
English  against  the  Pequots ;  and  while  they  scrupulously  ob- 
served all  the  provisions  of  the  treaty  until  after  the  destruction 
of  the  Pequots,  they  afterward,  through  jealousy  alone,  became 

Un  the  spring  of  1G37  a  party  of  Pequots  Invaded  the  Connecticut  valley  in 
the  vicinity  of  Wethersfield,  killed  nine  men  and  carried  two  women  into  cap- 
tivity. 

(       39       ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

insolent  and  attempted  to  provoke  hostilities  with  the  whites. 
Their  time,  in  turn,  came  in  due  season,  and  they  too  were  made 
to  feel  the  vengeance  of  the  American  colonist. 

In  1637  a  campaign  of  destruction  was  planned  against  the 
Pequots,  in  which  the  Massachusetts,  Plymouth  and  Connecticut 
colonies  agreed  to  send  a  combined  force  against  the  offending 
savages,  and  in  which  they  were  promised  the  aid  of  the  Narra- 
gansetts  and  some  of  the  more  friendly  Connecticut  river  tribes. 
Through  some  miscalculation  the  INIassachusetts  men  were  tardy 
in  their  movements,  and  Captain  JNIason,  of  the  Connecticut 
troops,  fearing  if  he  delayed  that  his  uncertain  Indian  allies 
might  attribute  his  action  to  cowardice,  bravely  pushed  forward 
with  less  than  one  hundred  men  and  crushed  the  Pequots  in  their 
stronghold  on  the  Mystic  river,  killing,  as  some  accounts  say, 
between  five  hundred  and  six  hundred  of  them,  with  a  loss  of 
but  two  of  his  own  men.  Most  of  his  Xarragansett  allies  became 
frightened  and  fled,  but  such  as  remained  hung  about  the  place 
and  slaughtered  the  few  Pequots  who  escaped  jNIason's  deadly 
assault.  Following  up  this  victory,  the  English  next  assaulted 
the  other  Pequot  fortress  with  like  result,  and  so  completely  were 
the  Indians  beaten  that  of  those  who  escaped  few  would  ever 
afterward  admit  Pequot  relationship. 

This  was  the  first  actual  conflict  between  the  New  England 
colonists  and  the  Indians,  and  it  was  a  visitation  of  retributive 
justice  that  had  a  salutary-  effect  upon  the  other  tribes  of  the 
region ;  and  many  years  passed  before  the  colonists  were  again 
called  upon  to  inflict  similar  punishment  in  other  localities. 
Some  writers,  who  knew  little  of  the  provocation  that  called  for 
the  extermination  of  the  Pequots,  and  still  less  of  the  true  In- 
dian character,  charged  the  colonists  with  unwarranted  cruelty 
during  the  war :  but  with  the  colonists  it  was  simply  a  question 
whether  they  and  their  families  should  be  put  to  the  knife  and 
the  tomahaw^k,  or  whether  the  Indians  should  first  feel  the  weight 
of  the  white  man's  strength  in  war.  On  either  side  it  was  bound 
to  be  a  war  of  extermination.  The  Pequots  had  suffered  no 
affront  at  the  hands  of  the  whites,  nor  had  their  lands  been  taken 
without  their  consent  and  just  consideration  paid.      A  spirit  of 

(       40       ) 


STRUGGLES   WITH   THE  INDIANS 

malice  and  mere  wantonness  prompted  hostilities  on  their  part, 
and  their  punishment  was  as  just  as  it  was  severe. 

In  the  Pequot  war  a  levy  was  made  for  seven  men  from  the 
Agawam  plantation  to  take  part  in  the  campaign,  but  from  all 
accounts  obtainable  the.y  were  not  furnished,  chiefly  from  the 
fact  that  the  settlement  could  not  safely  provide  that  number. 
The  plantation  was  also  assessed  86  pounds,  16  shillings,  for  the 
expenses  of  the  expedition,  which  was  paid,  although  at  consid- 
erable sacrifice  on  the  part  of  some  of  the  planters.  In  Con- 
necticut a  winter  of  severe  suffering  followed  the  war,  and  Cap- 
tain Mason,  the  hero  of  the  campaign,  visited  the  Indian  settle- 
ments in  the  vicinity  of  Pocomtuck  (Deerfield)  and  purchased 
from  the  natives  fifty  canoe  loads  of  corn  for  the  relief  of  the 
people  of  his  colony.  Mr.  Pynchon  had  been  asked  to  provide 
this  relief  from  his  plantation,  but  the  little  colony  itself  was  in 
dire  extremity  at  the  time. 

The  close  of  the  Pequot  war  was  followed  by  an  era  of  pros- 
perity in  the  New  England  colonies,  and  nowhere  was  there  made 
more  rapid  strides  in  advancement  and  development  than  in  the 
fertile  Connecticut  valley.  For  several  years  Springfield  was 
the  chief  center  of  trade  and  population,  and  as  settlement  in- 
creased the  lands  in  the  vicinity  were  taken  up  and  soon  fine 
farms  existed  in  place  of  heavy  forest  growths  of  former  times. 
In  the  course  of  a  few  years  plantations  were  established  at 
AVoronoco  ("Westfield),  Masacksick  (Longmeadow),  Freshwater 
(Enfield,  Conn.),  and  also  on  the  famous  Chicopee  Plain,  on  the 
west  bank  of  the  river  above  Springfield.  Farther  up  were  the 
flourishing  plantations  of  Hadley,  Northampton,  Hatfield, 
Greenfield,  Deerfield  (Pocomtuck)  and  Northfield,  the  latter  the 
most  northerly  settlement  in  the  valley  at  that  time.  When 
Hampshire  county  was  created  in  1662  it  is  estimated  that  about 
1,500  whites  were  settled  in  the  valley,  and  that  the  Indians  in 
the  same  region  numbered  about  400  or  500.  Generally  they 
Avere  friendly,  yet  at  times  the  genius  of  Mr.  Pynchon  was  taxed 
to  maintain  good  order  and  prevent  complications  through  de- 
mands for  arrests  from  the  authorities  of  the  eastern  settlements. 

While  harmony  thus  prevailed  for  a  period  of  nearly  two- 

(       41        ) 


STRUGGLES    WITH   THE  INDIANS 

score  years,  it  was  only  the  calm  that  preceded  the  storm;  but 
the  settlers  had  profited  by  the  lesson  of  the  Pequot  war  and 
made  preparation  for  any  future  outbreak;  yet  they  could  not 
guard  against  surprise  or  sudden  attack  from  a  dusky  foe.  In 
1639  the  Springfield  authorities  provided  for  the  organization 
of  a  militia  force  by  the  adoption  of  the  following  regulation: 

"It  is  ordered  that  the  exercise  of  trayning  shall  be  prac- 
tised one  day  in  every  month ;  and  if  occasion  doe  sometimes 
hinder,  then  the  like  space  of  tyme  shall  be  observed  another 
tyme,  though  it  be  two  days  after  one  another.  And  whosoever 
shall  absent  himself  without  lawful  excuse  shall  forfeit  twelve 
pence,  and  all  above  fifteen  years  of  age  shall  be  counted  for  sol- 
diers, and  the  tyme  to  begin,  the  first  thursday  in  December 
next."  Henry  Smith  was  appointed  sergeant  of  the  company, 
with  authority  to  appoint  a  corporal. 

Each  settled  locality  in  the  valley  was  provided  with  a  mili- 
tary company  under  similar  regulations,  and  each  also  caused 
a  fortified  house  to  be  built  for  the  protection  of  the  settlers  and 
their  families  in  case  of  attack.  Springfield  had  three  such 
places,  one  of  which,  strongly  constructed  of  brick,  was  built  by 
Mr.  Pynchon  in  1660  and  remained  standing  until  1831.  For 
almost  two  centuries  it  withstood  the  ravages  of  time  and  the 
elements,  and  on  at  least  one  occasion  it  also  successfully  with- 
stood an  Indian  attack.  Fort  Pynchon  stood  at  the  corner  of 
what  now  is  Main  and  Fort  streets,  the  latter  name  always  hav- 
ing been  preserved  in  memory  of  the  old  historic  structure.  The 
Springfield  Fire  and  INIarine  Insurance  company's  building 
(the  "Fort  building")  stands  on  the  site  once  occupied  by  the 
old  fort. 

The  organization  of  defensive  military  forces  and  the  con- 
struction of  fortified  houses  in  the  valley  was  accomplished  none 
too  soon,  although  the  work  was  begun  within  ten  years  after  the 
annihilation  of  the  Pequots.  After  the  organization  of  Hamp- 
shire county,  Capt.  John  Pynchon  was  placed  in  command  of  the 
Springfield  company,  and  also  was  commissioned  major  of  the 
"Hampshire  Horse,"  the  latter  a  troop  of  mounted  riflemen 
drawn  from  all  parts  of  the  county.      The  entire  military  forces 

(       43       ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

of  the  valley  in  1671  numbered  probably  four  hundred  effective 
men,  but  they  were  much  scattered  throughout  the  settled  locali- 
ties, and  were  not  sufficiently  strong  in  any  single  place  to  suc- 
cessfully withstand  the  desperate  attacks  of  King  Philip's  horde 
of  savages  in  the  war  Avhich  soon  devastated  the  region. 

Soon  after  the  Pequot  war  the  Narragansetts,  who  had  been 
the  allies  of  the  English  during  that  brief  struggle,  became  in- 
solent and  showed  a  disposition  to  provoke  enmity  with  their  late 
friends.  Their  chief,  Miantonomo,  who  had  behaved  with  com- 
parative decency  in  former  years,  now  had  become  jealous  of  the 
English,  and  particularly  of  Uncas  and  his  Mohegan  brothers, 
the  latter  being  exceedingly  friendly  with  the  whites  and  in 
great  favor  among  them.  But  notwithstanding  the  crafty  wiles 
and  petty  outrages  of  the  disgruntled  chief,  the  English  man- 
aged to  keep  peace  with  his  people  until  1646,  when  they  planned 
to  visit  upon  them  such  punishment  as  overtook  the  Pequots. 
However,  before  this  plan  Avas  carried  out  the  Indians  were  awed 
into  subjection,  surrendering  their  arms  and  agreeing  upon  a 
peace  Avhich  Avas  afterward  generally  observed. 

The  Wampanoags,  who,  with  the  Narragansetts,  inhabited 
the  southeast  country  of  New  England,  and  who  occupied  a  high 
place  in  Indian  councils,  were  at  this  time  under  Massasoit,  their 
chief  (whose  memory  is  perpetuated  in  the  name  of  Springfield's 
leading  hotel).  He  pledged  his  people  in  peace  Avith  the  col- 
onists in  1621,  and  was  faithful  to  his  promise  to  the  year  of  his 
death,  1662.  He  left  two  sons  Alexander  and  Philip,  the  former 
of  whom  succeeded  his  father  as  chief,  but  died  the  same  year. 
Philip  then  became  chief,  or  sachem  (accounts  differ  as  to  his 
office,  the  sachem  being  supreme  in  the  civil  councils  of  the  tribe 
and  the  chief  commanding  in  time  of  battle),  and  from  that 
time  until  his  death  he  schemed  to  undo  all  the  good  his  father 
had  done,  and  to  surpass  in  outrage  and  inhuman  slaughter  all 
the  chiefs  of  tribes  in  the  New  England  colonies.  In  this  re- 
spect he  was  successful,  and  he  involved  the  colonies  in  a  war 
which  continued  two  years  and  which  cost  the  whites  hundreds 
of  lives  in  battle  and  massacre,  Avhile  during  the  same  period  the 
Indian  loss  amounted  to  thousands  of  lives  of  warriors,  women 

(       44       ) 


STRUGGLES   WITH    THE   INDIANS 

and  children.  With  craftiness  Avorthy  of  a  higher  pnrpose  King 
Philip  drew  to  his  standard  nearly  every  tribe  in  the  colonies  and 
waged  a  warfare  that  taxed  the  strength  and  resources  of  the 
United  Colonies ;  and  when  at  last  he  fell  it  was  by  the  hand  of 
one  of  his  own  savage  followers,  whose  brother  he  had  slain  in 
passion  for  suggesting  that  peace  be  again  established  with  the 
English. 

King  Philip  phinged  heedlessly  into  the  war,  and  while  he 
had  spent  several  years  in  spreading  the  seed  of  dissension  among 
the  tribes  of  New  England,  he  was  not  prepared  for  the  contest 
when  it  came.  By  some  mischance  a  converted  Indian  found 
temporary  lodgment  with  Philip's  people,  and  discovered  that 
while  they  were  proclaiming  friendship  with  the  English,  they 
nevertheless  were  secretly  planning  their  destruction.  This  was 
reported  to  the  planters  at  Natick,  and  for  that  offense  the 
"praying"  Indian  was  killed  at  Philip's  command.  The  Ply- 
mouth colonists  arrested  and  hanged  the  murderers,  who  hap- 
pened to  be  three  of  Philip's  warriors,  which  so  enraged  the 
chief  that  he  was  no  longer  able  to  restrain  himself  and  plunged 
into  the  war  in  June,  1675,  by  attacking  Kehoboth  and  Swanzey. 
But  he  was  so  closely  pursued  by  the  Massachusetts  militia  that 
after  a  series  of  secret  attacks  and  sudden  retreats,  the  latter  part 
of  July  found  his  forces  in  the  vicinity  of  Brookfield,  approach- 
ing and  threatening  the  Connecticut  valley,  where  the  Indians 
generally  flocked  to  his  aid,  although  almost  to  the  very  hour  of 
their  departure  they  professed  friendship  for  the  whites.  The 
prospect  of  blood  and  plunder  was  too  much  for  their  weak  na- 
tures to  resist,  and  true  to  savage  instincts  they  allied  themselves 
to  Philip's  cause  and  waged  a  bitter  war  against  the  settlers  who 
had  been  their  chief  support  for  nearly  a  score  of  years. 

After  the  treacherous^  attack  upon  and  burning  of  Brook- 

^The  Nipmucks,  who  occupied  tlie  central  portion  of  Massachusetts,  made  the 
direct  attack  on  Brookfield,  although  they  were  aided  by  a  part  of  Philip's  men 
and  some  of  the  Connecticut  river  Indians.  The  Nipmucks  had  promised  to  meet 
a  party  of  Massachusetts  ofiBcers  and  troops  at  Brookfield  and  discuss  a  treaty 
with  them,  but  on  the  appointed  day  not  an  Indian  appeared  in  the  town.  The 
party  went  out  to  meet  them  in  their  own  territory,  where  they  were  drawn  into 
an  ambuscade  and  frightfully  slaughtered. 

(       45       ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

field  (Quaboag),  the  affair  covering  a  period  of  several  days  and 
■costing  many  lives,  Philip's  force  was  compelled  to  seek  shelter 
in  the  forests  and  swamps  in  the  direction  of  the  Connecticut 
river.  News  of  the  attack  was  sent  into  the  valley  and  Spring- 
field's company,  under  Lieutenant  Cooper,  accompanied  by 
thirty  Hartford  militia  and  a  number  of  professedly  friendly 
Indians,  marched  to  the  relief  of  the  besieged  settlement.  But 
before  they  arrived  the  attacking  party  had  retired.  In  a  few 
•days  after  the  disaster  at  Brookfield,  Philip's  men  attacked  Deer- 
field,  burning  a  number  of  houses,  and  on  the  next  day  killed 
several  men  at  Northfield.  On  September  3  a  force  of  thirty- 
six  men  under  Captain  Beers,  designed  for  the  garrison  at  North- 
field,  were  attacked,  and  twenty  of  them,  including  Captain 
Beers,  were  killed.  Just  two  weeks  later  followed  the  fearful 
slaughter  at  Bloody  Brook,  one  of  the  most  lamentable  events  of 
its  character  in  early  NeAV  England  history.  Philip 's  men  had 
now  overcome  every  opposing  body  of  whites  and  the  whole  lower 
Connecticut  valley  was  virtually  laid  open  to  the  ravages  of  his 
merciless  horde. 

When  the  ncAvs  of  these  attacks  was  communicated  to 
•colonial  authorities  of  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut,  prompt 
measures  Avere  taken  to  defeat  the  purpose  of  the  savages,  but 
instead  of  at  once  increasing  the  defensive  force  of  the  valley  by 
men  from  the  east,  they  made  the  unfortunate  mistake  of  calling 
upon  the  companies  of  the  towns  in  the  valley  to  relieve  each 
-other,  thus  leaving  some  of  them  unprotected  against  a  secret  at- 
tack. A  mistake  of  this  character  resulted  in  the  burning  of 
Springfield,  with  a  loss  of  several  lives  and  a  large  amount  of 
property. 

Early  in  October  the  news  reached  Springfield  that  a  con- 
siderable body  of  Indians  had  appeared  in  the  vicinity  of  Hadley 
with  evident  design  to  attack  the  town,  whereupon  Major  Pyn- 
chon  and  his  force  of  forty-five  of  the  strongest  young  men  of 
Springfield  hastened  to  reinforce  the  garrison  at  that  place.  Thus 
Springfield,  on  the  night  of  October  4,  was  wholly  at  the  mercy 
of  a  savage  horde  who  were  only  waiting  a  favorable  moment  for 
.•attack.      For  some  weeks  the  Springfield  Indians  had  been  rest- 

(       46       ) 


STRUGGLES   WITH   THE  INDIANS 

ive  and  all  their  movements  indicated  ill  feeling  toward  the 
whites.  They  were  sullen  and  morose,  and  instead  of  mingling 
with  the  settlers,  as  had  been  their  habit  for  years,  they  kept  in 
the  vicinity  of  their  fort  in  the  south  part  of  the  town ;  and  while 
Major  Pynchon's  little  company  was  marching  Avith  all  speed  to 
the  relief  of  Hadley,  the  treacherous  Spring-field  Indians  were 
harboring  King  Philip's  savages  within  their  fort  and  only  wait- 
ing to  strike  the  defenceless  settlement  unawares. 

However,  b}^  mere  chance  the  scheme  M^as  discovered  before 
the  attack  was  made.  In  the  family  of  a  Windsor  settler  named 
Wolcott  lived  Toto,  a  friendly  Indian,  who  disclosed  the  plot  to 
the  family,  and  the  latter  at  once  dispatched  a  messenger  to 
Springfield  with  the  news.  Word  was  quickly  sent  to  Major 
Pynchou,  and  in  the  meantime  the  inhabitants  removed  their 
families  and  some  of  their  effects  to  the  fortified  houses.  The 
young  men  of  the  settlement  were  with  the  militia  at  Hadley.  and 
only  a  few  men  of  more  advanced  years  remained  at  home. 
Among  the  latter  were  Thomas  INliller,  Deacon  Samuel  Chapin, 
one  of  the  magistrates,  Jonathan  Burt,  the  town  clerk,  and  Lieu- 
tenant Cooper,  the  latter  also  beyond  the  middle  age,  but  who 
recently  had  led  the  Springfield  company  to  the  relief  of  Brook- 
field.      Kev.  Mr.  Glover,  the  minister,  also  was  with  the  settlers. 

All  through  this  long  October  night  the  inhabitants  of 
Spring-field  kept  a  ceaseless  watch  for  the  dreaded  savages,  but 
the  morning  daAvned  without  a  sign  of  the  enemy.  The  settlers 
felt  in  a  measure  reassured  and  at  last  began  to  hope  that  the 
rumor  was  false.  Rev.  Mr.  Glover  even  returned  with  his  library 
to  his  own  house,  having  previously  kept  it  at  Major  Pynchon's 
for  safety.  At  length  the  fear  of  an  attack  began  to  pass  away, 
and  to  satisfy  themselves  as  to  the  truth  of  the  report  spread 
abroad.  Lieutenant  Cooper  and  Thomas  Miller  mounted  their 
horses  and  rode  off  in  the  direction  of  the  Indian  fort.  They 
passed  beyond  the  settled  portion  of  the  town  and  as  they  entered 
a  piece  of  woods  a  little  north  of  ]\Iill  river,  both  were  shot  by  a 
concealed  enemy,  INIiller  falling  dead  from  his  horse,  and  Cooper 
having  a  mortal  wound.  He  nevertheless  struggled  to  his  feet, 
remounted  his  horse  and  rode  swiftly  back  into  the  town,  where 
he  died  near  the  entrance  to  the  nearest  fort. 

(       47       ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE' 

"The  Indians  then  burst  upon  the  town  with  great  fury.^ 
Unable  to  gratify  their  thirst  for  blood  by  the  slaughter  of  the 
people  within  the  forts,  they  began  the  work  of  destroying  their 
undefended  houses,  barns  and  other  property.  The  whole  num- 
ber of  dwelling  houses  in  the  town  was  forty-five,  and  in  a  short 
time  thirty-two  of  these  dwellings  and  twenty-four  or  twenty- 
five  bams  M^ere  in  flames.  The  house  of  correction  was  de- 
stroyed. INIajor  Pynehon's  corn  mill  and  saw  mill  were  burned 
and  in  general  the  corn  and  hay  in  store  for  the  coming  winter 
were  consumed.  Besides  Cooper  and  INIiller,  one  Avoman,  Pente- 
cost Matthews,  wife  of  John  Matthews,  the  drummer,  who  lived 
near  the  south  end  of  the  street,  was  killed.  Four  other  persons 
were  wounded,  one  of  them,  Edward  Pringrydays,  so  severely 
that  he  died  a  few  days  afterward. ' ' 

"From  one  end  of  the  street  to  the  other,  this  scene  of  havoc 
and  devastation  was  exhibited.  The  beleaguered  people  looked 
out  guardedly  from  the  windows  and  loop-holes  of  the  fortified 
houses  and  saw  the  Indians  whom  they  had  known  familiarly  for 
years  as  neighbors  and  friends— to  whom  they  had  done  no 
wrong — ruthlessly  apply  the  torch  to  their  dwellings,  and  con- 
sign them,  with  their  furniture,  their  stores  of  food,  and  all  the 
little  provisions  they  had  made  for  the  comfort  of  their  families 
during  the  approaching  winter,  to  a  remorseless  destruction." 

"In  this  diabolical  work  the  Springfield  Indians,  some  forty 
in  number,  were  not  a  whit  behind  the  strangers,  whom  they  had 
admitted  to  their  fort.  Indeed,  first  and  foremost  in  this  work, 
'the  ringleader  in  word  and  deed',  was  "Wequogan,^  the  chief 
sachem  of  the  Springfield  Indians.  Another  chief,  well  known 
to  our  people,  while  actively  engaged  in  this  mischief,  loudly 

^We  quote  freely  from  Henry  Morris's  narrative  on  tbe  burning  of  Spring- 
field, that  being  one  of  tlie  most  reliable  accounts  extant. 

■-Wequogan  is  believed  to  have  been  killed  near  Pedham  during  the  latter 
part  of  King  Philip's  war.  He  was  one  of  three  Indians  who  in  1674  sold  to 
Elizur  Holyoke  and  others,  "for  the  use  and  behoof  of  the  town,  a  tract  of  land 
bounded  northerly  by  'Chickuppe'  river,  southerly  by  the  Scantic  and  Freshwater 
rivers,  and  extending  from  the  foot  of  Wilbraham  mountains  on  the  east  as  far  as 
Five  Mile  pond  on  the  west."  In  the  sale  of  1674  Wequogan  is  mentioned  as 
formerly  called  Wrutherna,  but  probably  was  not  the  Indian  of  that  name  who 
signed  the  deed  to  Pynchon  in  16.'i6  ;  but  he  may  have  been  his  son. — Morris. 

(       48       ) 


STRUGGLES    WITH   THE  INDIANS 

proclaimed  to  them  that  he  Avas  the  one  who  had  burned  Qiiaboag, 
and  would  serve  them  the  same  way. ' ' 

Several  of  the  Indians  who  participated  in  the  burning  of 
Springfield  were  shot  by  the  besieged  people  from  their  fortified 
houses,  but  the  larger  part  of  them  escaped  injury  and  took  away 
all  the  plunder  they  could  carry.  They  disappeared  as  suddenly 
as  they  had  come,  and  their  subsequent  encampment  at  Indian 
Orchard  was  not  known  to  the  whites  for  some  time.  While 
they  were  busy  with  their  work  of  destruction  Major  Treat  and 
his  company  of  Connecticut  militia  appeared  on  the  west  side  of 
the  river,  having  learned  of  the  attack  and  made  a  forced  march 
from  Westfield.  Not  being  able  to  cross  the  river,  they  were 
of  little  real  service,  yet  their  presence  in  the  neighborhood  had 
the  effect  to  deter  the  Indians  from  a  combined  attack  on  any  of 
the  fortified  houses. 

About  the  middle  of  the  afternoon,  October  5,  Major  Pyn- 
chon's  men  came  hastily  into  the  town,  tired  and  worn  with  their 
rapid  movements,  yet  the  murderous  horde  of  savages  fled  be- 
fore their  approach  and  sought  safety  in  the  densely  wooded 
regions  south  of  the  settlement.  But  what  a  scene  of  desola- 
tion greeted  the  returned  men  as  they  approached  the  town  from 
the  north,  for  the  ruins  of  fifty-seven  buildings  were  still  smoul- 
dering and  not  a  single  house  north  of  Major  Pynchon's  was 
standing,  except  that  of  William  Branch.  "Between  Pynchon's 
house  and  the  meeting  house,  the  house  of  Kev.  Mr.  Glover,  John 
Hitchcock,  John  Stewart  and  several  others  were  burned,  as  were 
their  barns.  A  few  houses  were  standing  about  the  meeting 
house,  or  the  present  Elm  street.  From  the  house  of  Thomas 
INIerrick,  a  little  below  where  West  State  street  now  is,  down  to 
the  two  garrison  houses  at  the  lower  end  of  Main  street,  all  were 
destroyed.  In  one  of  those  garrison  houses  lay  the  body  of  Lieut. 
Thomas  Cooper."  He  was  a  carpenter  by  trade,  and  built  the 
first  meeting  house  here  in  1645 ;  was  deputy  to  the  general  court 
in  1668,  and  appears  to  have  possessed  considerable  knowledge 
of  surgery. 

According  to  reliable  authority  it  is  believed  that  the  whole 
number  of  Indians  engaged  in  the  destruction  of  Springfield  was 


4-1 


(       49       ) 


OVB  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

about  six  hundred,  of  which  number  two  hundred  and  seventy 
were  King-  Philip 's  savages  and  the  remainder  Avere  Connecticut 
river  and  other  Massachusetts  Indians. 

In  describing  the  situation  of  the  town  after  the  burning, 
Holland  says:  "The  inhabitants  were  thus  left  houseless  and 
almost  penniless.  There  were  no  mills  to  grind  their  corn,  or  to 
saw  stuft's  for  new  dwellings,  and  in  deep  discouragement  they 
came  near  abandoning  the  settlement  and  leaving  their  estates 
as  the  settlers  at  the  north  had  done.  Major  Pynchon  was  much 
disheartened ;  the  accumulations  of  a  lifetime  had  been  swept 
away,  and  it  is  not  unlikely  that  the  graceless  return  which  the 
Indians  had  made  for  all  his  kindness  had  an  effect  upon  hisi 
mind.  His  were  the  buildings  destroyed  previous  to  the  gen- 
eral conflagration.  He  felt,  too,  the  weight  of  responsibility  that 
was  upon  him  in  his  position  as  the  leading  man  of  the  town. 
Mr.  Glover,  the  minister,  lost  one  of  the  most  valuable  private 
libraries  that  New  England  then  contained." 

Major  Pynchon  unquestionably  was  the  greatest  loser  b.y  the 
disaster,  and  his  sentiments  and  feelings  are  pretty  well  de- 
scribed in  the  following  extract  from  his  letter  to  Governor 
Leverett,  written  from  Springfield  three  days  after  the  burning 
of  the  town:  "Our  people  are  under  great  discouragement — 
talk  of  leaving:  the  place.  We  need  your  orders  and  direction 
about  it.  If  it  be  deserted  how  wofully  do  we  yield  to  and  en- 
courage our  insolent  enemy,  and  how  doth  it  make  way  for  the 
giving  up  of  all  the  towns  above.  If  it  be  held  it  must  be  by 
strength  and  many  soldiers,  and  how  to  have  provision — I  mean 
bread — for  want  of  a  mill,  is  difficult.  The  soldiers  here  already 
complain  on  that  account,  although  we  have  flesh  enough.  And 
this  very  strait — I  mean  no  meal,  will  drive  many  of  our  inhabit- 
ants away,  especially  those  that  have  no  corn,  and  many  of  them 
no  houses,  which  fills  and  throngs  up  every  room  of  those  that 
have,  together  with  the  soldiers  now  (which  yet  we  cannot  be 
without)  increasing  our  numbers,  so  that  indeed  it  is  very  un- 
comfortable living  here,  and  for  my  own  particular,  it  would  be 
far  better  for  me  to  go  away,  because  here  I  have  not  anything 
left — I  mean  no  corn,  neither  Indian  nor  English,  and  no  means 

(       50       ) 


STRUGGLES   WITH   THE  INDIANS 

to  keep  one  beast  here ;  nor  can  I  have  release  in  this  town  be- 
cause so  many  are  destitute.  But  I  resolve  to  attend  to  what 
God  calls  me  to,  and  to  stick  to  it  as  long  as  I  can,  and  though  I 
have  such  great  loss  to  my  comforts,  yet  to  do  what  I  can  for  de- 
fending the  place.  I  hope  God  will  make  up  in  himself  what  is 
wanting  in  the  creature,  to  me  and  to  us  all." 

As  is  unmistakably  indicated  by  the  tenor  of  Mr.  Pynchon's 
letter,  the  people  of  Springfield  were  indeed  reduced  to  great 
extremity  as  the  result  of  the  attack,  and  many  of  the  settlers 
seriously  contemplated  a  removal  to  the  better  protected  towns 
in  the  east  part  of  the  province.  The  disasters  in  the  upper 
part  of  the  valley,  followed  by  that  at  Springfield,  filled  the  peo- 
ple of  Northampton  and  Hadley  with  great  apprehension,  for  in 
the  order  of  things  those  towns  probably  would  next  suffer ;  and 
now  with  Major  Pynchon  resigned  from  the  militia  command, 
the  settlers  had  no  one  person  upon  whom  they  could  lean  for 
advice.  Capt.  Samuel  Appleton  succeeded  to  the  command  of 
the  Massachusetts  troops  in  this  region,  and  established  himself 
at  Hadley.  Captain  Seeley  with  the  Connecticut  men  was  at 
Northampton,  but  not  being  in  supreme  command  in  the  absence 
of  Major  Treat,  he  declined  to  co-operate  with  the  Massachusetts 
militia.  Later  on  the  Connecticut  authorities  corrected  this 
blunder  and  sent  ]\Iajor  Treat  with  a  force  sufficient  to  garrison 
and  protect  Northampton. 

On  October  19,  while  the  commanders  of  the  detached  forces 
in  the  valley  were  arranging  defensive  plans.  King  Philip's 
warrioi-s,  some  seven  or  eight  hundred  strong,  surprised  Hat- 
field, then  defended  by  Captains  Moseley  and  Poole.  The  at- 
tack was  well  planned,  but  evidently  the  Indians  miscalculated 
the  defense  of  the  place,  for  they  were  repulsed  with  loss  in  every 
quarter ;  and  on  the  arrival  of  Captain  Appleton  from  Hadley 
they  Avere  utterly  routed  and  put  to  flight.  This  was  the  first 
severe  punishment  administered  to  Philip  during  the  year,  and  it 
had  the  effect  to  change  his  plans  for  the  wdnter ;  and  instead  of 
remaining  in  the  valley  he  soon  afterward  betook  himself,  with 
his  Wampanoag  warriors,  to  the  Narragansett  country,  where 
he  remained  in  comparative  quiet  several  months,  although  he 

(       51       ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

was  at  one  time  reported  to  be  in  the  vicinity  of  Albany  with  sev- 
eral hundred  braves.  Had  this  been  true  the  ]Mohawks  would 
have  saved  New  England  the  expense  of  a  campaign  in  the  year 
1676. 

Notwithstanding  the  withdrawal  of  Philip 's  forces  from  the 
valley  about  the  first  of  November,  the  region  was  by  no  means 
pacified,  nor  were  the  settlers  at  all  secure  in  their  homes,  for 
the  river  Indians  were  implacable,  mean  and  perfectly  devilish 
in  their  treatment  of  the  whites  throughout  the  winter  months. 
Soon  after  the  attack  on  Hatfield  several  settlers  engaged  in 
harvesting  corn  near  Northampton  were  surprised  by  a  party  of 
Indians  and  barely  escaped  with  their  lives ;  and  before  Major 
Treat  could  organize  a  pursuit  the  savages  had  burned  several 
buildings  and  made  a  safe  retreat  into  the  forests.  A  few  days 
later  the  grist  mill  was  attacked,  but  w^as  saved  by  a  party  of 
soldiers  kept  there  for  its  protection. 

During  the  winter,  which,  providentially,  was  exception- 
ally mild,  AVestfield  was  twice  attacked  by  marauding  bands; 
first,  soon  after  the  affair  at  Northampton,  when  ]Mr.  Granger, 
a  planter,  was  wounded,  and  the  dwelling  of  Mr.  Cornish  and  the 
house  and  barns  of  John  Sacket  were  burned,  with  their  con- 
tents. About  the  same  time  three  young  men  of  Springfield, 
one  a  son  of  Mr.  Gumbleton  and  the  others  sons  of  Mr.  Brooks, 
went  out  to  examine  some  iron  ore  lands  owned  by  ]\Ir.  Pynchon, 
and  were  killed.  In  this  manner  depredations  were  continued 
all  through  the  winter,  and  the  people  of  Springfield  were  almost 
daily  alarmed  by  the  reports  of  Indians  in  the  vicinity.  They 
had  thought  to  abandon  the  settlement,  but  Avere  strictly  enjoined 
not  to  do  so  by  an  order  of  the  general  court. 

During  the  more  severe  winter  months  the  Indians  were 
comparatively  quiet,  but  when  spring  approached  they  resumed 
their  depredations.  In  the  meantime  the  colonial  authorities 
had  organized  a  powerful  force  to  crush  the  savages  in  their 
eastern  strongholds.  For  this  expedition  Massachusetts  fur- 
nished 527  men,  commanded  by  INIajor  Samuel  Appleton ;  Con- 
necticut furnished  315  men  under  Major  Treat,  and  Plymouth 
furnished  158  men  under  Governor  Winslow,  who  also  was  to 

(       52       ) 


STRUGGLES   WITH   THE  INDIANS 

serve  as  commander-in-chief.  The  details  of  the  expedition  are 
not  necessary  to  this  chapter,  and  it  is  sufficient  to  state  that  as 
its  result  seven  hundred  Indians  were  killed  outright,  three  hun- 
dred were  mortally  wounded,  while  hundreds  of  others,  men, 
squaws  and  papooses,  perished  in  the  flames  of  their  burning- 
wigwams.  The  colonists  lost  about  two  hundred  men  in  battles, 
and  a  few  others  who  died  from  exposure.  It  was  a  terrible  pun- 
ishment, however,  for  the  Indians,  yet  severe  as  it  was.  King 
Philip's  power  was  not  broken.  Of  his  warriors  who  escaped 
some  fled  to  the  Nipmucks  while  others  found  refuge  in  the  wig- 
wams of  the  Connecticut  river  Indians  in  the  vicinity  of  Spring- 
field, Deerfield  and  Northfield,  where  Philip  had  faithful  allies. 

In  the  latter  part  of  March,  1676,  the  people  of  Long- 
meadow,  having  all  through  the  winter  been  deprived  of  the 
privilege  of  attending  worship  in  their  meeting  house,  deter- 
mined to  visit  the  sanctuary  in  Springfield,  four  miles  distant. 
On  Sunday  morning,  March  26,  they  set  out  under  a  strong  and 
apparently  determined  guard;  but  when  in  the  vicinity  of  Pe- 
cowsic  brook  a  party  of  eight  Indians  surprised  them,  routed 
the  guard  and  attacked  the  unprotected  people,  killing  John 
Keep,  his  wife  and  child,  wounding  others,  and  making  captives 
of  two  women  and  two  children. 

About  the  same  time  the  settlement  at  "Westfield  was  sub- 
jected to  a  second  visit  from  the  Indians,  but  upon  the  first  indi- 
cations of  their  presence  in  the  vicinity  a  party  of  a  dozen  deter- 
mined armed  men  went  out  and  drove  them  from  the  place,  kill- 
ing and  wounding  a  number  of  them  and  losing  only  two  of  their 
own  men— Moses  Cook,  a  planter,  and  one  of  the  soldiers  of  the 
garrison. 

The  severe  punishment  inflicted  on  the  Indians  in  the  east- 
ern part  of  the  colonies  during  the  winter  had  the  effect  to 
change  the  seat  of  subsequent  events  from  that  region  to  the  val- 
ley of  the  Connecticut,  and  early  in  the  spring  Springfield, 
Northampton,  Hadley  and  Hatfield  became  important  points  of 
operations.  The  Indians,  however,  were  early  on  the  move,  and 
about  the  middle  of  March  made  a  furious  attack  upon  North- 
ampton, following  it  two  weeks  later  with  a  similar  assault  upon 

(       53       ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

Hatfield,  the  latter  without  injurious  results  except  to  them- 
selves. They  then  returned  to  Northampton,  but  passed  with- 
out an  attack,  and  next  turned  up  at  Westfield,  as  has  been  men- 
tioned. 

These  marauding  depredations  were  continued  at  frequent 
intervals  by  small  bands  of  Indians,  and  at  length  the  Massachu- 
setts council  suggested  that  the  smaller  plantations  consolidate 
with  those  of  greater  strength  for  the  general  security  of  all. 
Thus  Longmeadow  and  Westfield  were  urged  to  unite  with 
Springfield  until  the  troublous  period  should  have  passed.  Long- 
meadow,  by  reason  of  its  recent  visitation,  had  no  objection  to 
the  plan,  but  Westfield  with  a  spirit  of  determination  and  inde- 
pendence that  has  ever  characterized  its  people  in  all  generations, 
repudiated  the  suggestion  to  leave  a  strongly  defended  plantation 
for  one  of  less  strength  and  without  habitations  or  means  of  sup- 
port even  for  its  own  people.  Isaac  Phelps,  David  Ashley  and 
Josiah  Dewey  acted  for  the  town  in  this  matter,  and  their  coun- 
cils were  aided  by  the  advice  of  Mr.  Taylor,^  their  minister ;  and 
with  such  art  did  these  worthies  address  themselves  to  the  coun- 
cil that  their  argument  prevailed  and  there  was  no  consolidation 
of  towns.  On  the  contrary,  a  defensive  force  of  one  hundred 
and  eighty  men  was  granted  the  locality. 

Soon  after  the  beginning  of  operations  in  1676  the  Indians 
established  themselves  in  camp  in  the  vicinity  of  Deerfield,  and 
with  Philip  in  command  they  regarded  themselves  able  to  resist 
any  force  the  English  were  likely  to  send  against  them.  From 
this  point  small  bands  made  sudden  assaults  on  the  frontier  set- 
tlements, burning  buildings  and  driving  off  cattle.  About  this 
time  it  was  learned  from  an  Indian  who  was  captured  near  Chico- 
pee  (three  others  being  killed  at  the  time)  by  Captain  Samuel 

'In  a  letter  to  the  council  Mr.  Taylor  sets  forth  several  reasons  why  the 
Westfield  people  cannot  remove  from  their  town,  one  of  his  arguments  being  as 
follows  :  "We  are  altogether  incapacitated  for  any  removal,  by  reason  of  the 
awful  hand  of  God  upon  us,  in  personal  visitations,  for  there  came  a  soldier  sick 
of  bloody  flux,  and,  dying  amongst  us.  in  Capt.  Cook's  family,  hath  infested  the 
family  therewith,  insomuch  that  he  hath  lost  a  son  by  it.  his  wife  lies  at  the 
point  of  death,  his  youngest  son  is  very  weak  of  it,  and  he  himself  is  almost 
brought  to  bed  by  it,  and  there  is  another  family  in  the  house  hath  it." 

(       54       ) 


STRUGGLES   WITH   THE  INDIANS 

Holyoke  's  men,  that  the  whole  number  of  Indians  in  the  camp  in 
the  upper  valley  Avas  3,000,  of  whom  1,000  were  warriors,  chiefly 
Narragansetts,  Nipmucks  and  Quaboags,  with  some  river  In- 
dians, but  that  there  were  no  foreigners  (MohaAvks)  among 
them.  He  said  that  they  were  poorly  supplied  with  clothing 
and  food,  but  had  an  abundance  of  ammunition  and  plenty  of 
guns  which  they  had  bought  from  the  Dutch  traders. 

On  May  18  Captains  Turner  and  Holyoke,  with  one  hundred 
and  eighty  men  from  Springfield,  Northampton  and  Hadley, 
made  a  rapid  forced  march  and  attacked  the  Indian  encampment 
on  Fall  river,  causing  a  loss  to  the  savages  of  more  than  three 
hundred  in  killed  and  drowned,  besides  the  destruction  of  their 
wigwams  and  fishing  grounds.  Soon  afterw^ard,  however,  as 
the  victors  were  returning  to  Hatfield,  they  were  set  upon  and 
harassed  along  the  entire  march  by  the  thoroughly  maddened 
red  men.  Captain  Turner  was  killed  and  the  command  de- 
volved upon  Captain  Holyoke,  who  in  fact  was  the  hero  of  the 
expedition,  and  whose  coolness  and  skill  alone  saved  the  little 
body  of  English  from  total  annihilation.  As  it  was  thirty-eight 
men  were  lost. 

The  attack  upon  the  Indians  at  the  Falls,  while  unfortunate 
in  its  final  results  to  the  English,  Avas  terribly  disastrous  to  the 
Indians,  as  it  broke  up  the  fisheries  Avhich  Avere  their  chief  de- 
pendence for  food.  In  retaliation  Philip  invaded  Hatfield,  but 
in  so  doing  he  encountered  a  body  of  tAventy-five  soldiers,  Avho 
punished  him  severely  and  drove  his  savages  from  the  town  Avith 
a  loss  of  tAventy-five  redskins — one  for  each  man  in  the  Hadley 
company. 

At  length  the  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut  authorities 
healed  their  differences  and  determined  to  clear  the  country  of 
the  murderous  horde  of  savages  Avho  had  caused  such  Avidespread 
desolation,  and  to  that  end  planned  a  formidable  expedition 
against  them.  Connecticut  agreed  to  and  did  send  to  join  the 
Massachusetts  forces  an  efficient  body  of  tAA'O  hundred  and  fifty 
troops  and  tAA'o  hundred  Mohegan  AA^arriors.  Under  command 
of  Major  Talcott  this  force  SAA^ept  up  the  Connecticut  valley, 
clearing  the  region  of  every  hostile  Indian    along   the    line    of 

(       55       ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

march ;  and  he  arrived  at  Hadley^  just  as  the  garrison  had  re- 
pulsed a  determined  attack  by  Philip's  men.  This  defeat,  to- 
gether with  the  timely  arrival  of  Talcott,  was  the  beginning  of 
the  end  of  Indian  depredations  in  this  region,  either  bj'  King 
Philip's  warriors  or  his  Connecticut  river  allies.  The  com- 
bined colonial  forces  with  their  Mohegan  allies  cleared  the  region 
of  its  skulking  enemies,  and  after  Talcott 's  men  had  pursued  a 
part  of  them  into  the  Narragansett  country  and  still  others  into 
the  Housatonie  valley,  all  that  lived  of  the  once  murderous  horde 
sought  refuge  with  their  ancestors  in  Canada. 

Philip  struggled  on  for  a  time,  but  at  last  fell  by  the  hand 
of  one  of  his  own  warriors.  He  was  killed  August  12,  1676.  The 
victorious  English  cleared  the  eastern  portion  of  the  colonies  of 
Indians,  which  work  continued  until  the  spring  of  1678. 

The  most  reliable  authorities  estimate  that  during  King 
Philip 's  war  the  United  Colonies  lost  one-eleventh  of  their  entire 
militia  forces  and  about  the  same  proportion  of  all  the  build- 
ings. The  Indian  loss  during  the  same  time  is  estimated  at  more 
than  5,000,  of  both  sexes. 

^An  interesting  fact  of  general  history  was  disclosed  in  connection  with  the 
attack  on  Hadley.  At  one  time  the  Indians  had  pierced  the  palisades  and  gained 
the  Interior  of  a  house,  but  were  beaten  bacli  after  a  desperate  struggle.  The 
defenders  showed  some  sign  of  weakening  and  were  in  a  state  of  confusion,  when 
suddenly  there  appeared  in  their  midst  a  stranger,  who  at  once  assumed  com- 
mand, encouraged  the  soldiers  and  directed  efforts  which  resulted  in  success  for 
the  defenders  of  the  place.  Subsequently  the  fact  was  disclosed  that  the  stranger 
was  Goffe,  one  of  the  judges  who  condemned  to  death  Charles  I.  of  England,  and 
who.  having  escaped  from  England  in  1660.  afterward  lived  in  exile  in  America. 
For  twelve  years  preceding  the  time  of  the  attack  on  Hadley.  Goffe  and  his 
father-in-law.  named  Whalley.  had  been  members  of  Mr.  Russell's  family.  Mr. 
Russell  was  the  minister  at  Hadley. 


56 


CHAPTER  VI 

COLONIAL    WARS 

From  the  Close  of  King  Pliilip^s  War  to  tJie  End  of  the  French 
Dominion — Indians  Ask  to  he  Restored  to  their  Former  Posses- 
sions in  the  Connecticut  Valley — Ki)tg  William's  War— Indian 
Depredations  of  the  Frontier — Queen  Anne's  War — Treaty  of 
Vtrecht — Trouble  witli  tlie  Ahenaquis — Fattier  Basle  and  Wor- 
onoak—War  Again  Declared  Between  England  and  France  — 
Treaty  of  Aix-la-ChapeUe  —  War  Resumed — Tlie  Hampshire 
County  Regiment  at  Lake  George  —  Troops  Assembled  at 
Springfield— End  of  the  War— Treaty  of  Paris. 

Although  the  Indians  were  driven  from  their  former  haunts 
in  the  valley  as  the  result  of  their  alliance  with  King  Philip,  they 
nevertheless  were  reluctant  to  remain  permanently  away  from 
their  favorite  fishing  grounds.  When  they  left  they  found 
refuge  in  Canada  and  placed  themselves  under  the  protection 
of  the  French.  Occasionally  during  the  early  part  of  the  fol- 
lowing year,  under  French  instigation,  war  parties  made  incur- 
sions into  the  regions  of  Vermont  and  New  Hampshire,  and  in 
September  a  force  of  about  fifty  of  them  attacked  Hatfield  and 
Deerfield,  and  even  made  a  demonstration  against  the  mill  at 
Hadley.  In  the  upper  valley  country  they  killed  a  number  of 
persons  and  made  captives  of  others,  carrying  the  latter  to  Can- 
ada. 

Notwithstanding  these  atrocities,  the  uncivilized  vagabonds 
soon  afterward  presented  themselves  to  the  English  and  asked 
that  they  again  might  occupy  their  possessions  along  the  Con- 
necticut.     Only  three  years  before  they  had  formed  an  alliance 

(       57       ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

with  a  falling  power  (King  Philip)  and  by  their  unpardonable 
treachery  they  had  forfeited  all  claims  to  consideration  at  the 
hands  of  the  English,  yet  now  they  asked  to  be  admitted  to  the 
benefits  of  peace.  The  English  treated  them  with  a  far  greater 
moderation  than  they  deserved,  and  sent  Major  Treat  to  nego- 
tiate terms  with  them,  or,  rather,  to  tell  them  what  they  might 
do  and  Avhat  would  be  expected  of  them.  First,  they  must  sub- 
ject themselves  to  English  laws  as  did  the  English  people ;  they 
must  restore  to  the  English  any  captives  they  had  taken  to  Can- 
ada or  elsewhere.  Then  they  were  at  liberty  to  reoccupy  the 
land  formerly  possessed  by  them,  with  the  privileges  accorded  to 
the  whites. 

In  a  way  the  Indians  accepted  the  terms  imposed  upon  them 
(INIajor  Treat  was  entirely  fair  but  was  very  firm  with  them)  and 
did  return  a  part  of  the  captives  (the  others  were  ransomed  by 
a  party  of  whites  who  went  to  Canada  and  purchased  their  re- 
lease), but  the  idea  of  living  strictly  in  accordance  with  the  laws 
of  order  which  bound  the  white  man  was  so  repugnant  to  the  sav- 
ages that  they  soon  left  the  region  and  took  up  their  abode  near 
the  Canada  border. 

After  the  withdraAval  of  the  Indians  the  settlers  in  the  val- 
ley returned  to  their  lands,  restored  the  buildings  and  devoted 
themselves  to  the  peaceful  arts  of  agriculture  and  trade.  For 
a  period  of  ten  years  they  thus  lived  in  undisturbed  quiet,  and 
during  that  time  they  prospered  as  never  before.  Hampshire 
county  now  had  become  one  of  the  important  civil  divisions  of 
Massachusetts,  and  in  population,  resources  and  productions  it 
ranked  with  the  best  regions  of  New  England. 

In  1688,  upon  the  abdication  of  James  II.,  and  the  accession 
of  William  and  Mary  to  the  British  throne,  England  and  France 
almost  at  once  engaged  in  what  has  been  known  in  history  as 
King  William's  Avar,  a  struggle  that  re-echoed  throughout  the 
American  colonies.  The  French  in  Canada  now  were  aided  by 
the  Indians  who  had  been  driven  from  New  England,  and  the 
savages  themselves  required  but  little  persuasion  to  induce  them 
to  wage  Avar  against  their  recent  conquerors,  especially  as  the 
French  officers  offered  a  bounty  for  each  English  scalp  and  eacli 
English  captive. 

(       58       ) 


COLONIAL  WARS 

Once  more  therefore  the  New  Englanders  were  called  upon 
to  defend  their  northern  frontier  against  a  wily  foe.  New  York 
then  had  become  a  thoroughly  English  province,  and  shared  with 
her  sister  colonies  on  the  east  the  vicissitudes  of  war  with  com- 
bined French  and  Indian  enemies;  but  New  York,  unlike  New 
England,  had  the  assistance  of  the  powerful  Iroquois  confeder- 
acy, whose  warriors  hated  not  only  the  French  but  also  the  In- 
dians who  were  their  allies.  On  the  other  hand,  the  New  Eng- 
landers relied  for  the  defense  of  their  frontier  upon  the  sturdy 
planters,  and  it  was  a  confidence  worthily  bestowed. 

In  Massachusetts  the  upper  Connecticut  valley  was  the  most 
exposed  region,  and  one  that  required  the  strongest  defensive 
force.  For  this  purpose  the  southern  toAms  of  Hampshire 
county  were  called  upon  to  contribute  almost  the  entire  strength 
of  their  militia.  Brookfield  was  invaded  in  1692,  and  in  the 
next  year  Deerfield  and  Northfield  again  were  scenes  of  strife 
and  bloodshed.  The  depredations  in  these  and  other  localities, 
while  of  small  importance  in  general  warfare,  had  the  effect  to 
keep  the  frontier  in  a  state  of  constant  disorder,  and  the  lower 
towns  were  more  or  less  affected  by  the  events.  In  December, 
1697,  the  treaty  of  Ryswick  put  an  end  to  the  war  between 
France  and  England,  but  in  the  colonies  the  Indians  persevered 
in  their  depredations  for  several  months. 

In  1702,  after  five  years  of  peace,  King  AVilliam  died  and 
Queen  Anne  entered  upon  her  reign.  In  the  very  same  year 
what  is  known  as  "Queen  Anne's  war"  was  begun,  involving 
alike  the  mother  countries  and  their  colonies  on  this  side  of  the 
Atlantic ;  and  again  the  bloodhounds  of  death  were  let  loose  on 
the  Massachusetts  border.  In  February,  1704,  a  party  of 
French  and  Indians  under  Hertel  de  Rouville  surprised  Deer- 
field,  killed  forty-seven  persons  and  made  prisoners  of  more 
than  one  hundred  others.  Having  plundered  the  town  and 
burned  the  buildings,  the  French  returned  to  Canada  ^^dth  the 
captives.  Determined  to  allow  the  frontier  no  respite,  the 
French  and  Indians  harassed  the  eastern  quarter  of  New  Eng- 
land throughout  the  entire  summer.  In  1705  and  1706,  while 
nea^'ly  all  the  militiamen  were  away  on  duty,  the  savages  ven- 

(       59       ) 


OVR  COUXTY  AXD  ITS  PEOPLE 

tiired  down  the  valley  to  their  old  resorts  in  the  vicinity  of  North- 
ampton andHadley,  where  they  committed  small  depredations. 
They  even  went  over  into  Westfield,  and  in  the  north  part  of 
Springfield  they  wounded  Samuel  Chapin.  In  July,  1708,  they 
attacked  the  house  of  Lieutenant  Wright  at  Skipmuck,  in  Spring- 
field, and  killed  three  persons— ]\Ir.  Wright,  the  senior,  and  two 
soldiers,  Aaron  Parsons  and  Barijah  Hubbard.  Two  children 
were  wounded,  one  of  them  dying  soon  afterward ;  and  Henry 
Wright's  wife  was  carried  away  captive. 

These,  however,  were  only  the  minor  incidents  of  the  war, 
the  heavier  contests  being  waged  in  other  parts  of  the  colonies  or 
in  the  Canadas.  In  1701  the  Iroquois  made  a  treaty  of  peace 
with  the  French  and  their  Indian  allies,  and  in  their  territory 
they  proved  an  impenetrable  barrier  between  Queen  Anne's 
army  and  the  English  in  New  York.  Therefore  the  French  di- 
rected their  entire  force  against  New  England.  Expeditions 
followed  one  another  in  quick  succession,  and  as  the  English  had 
no  savage  allies,  they  suffered  most.  The  contest  was  waged 
with  varying  results,  the  greater  disasters  falling  upon  the  Eng- 
lish through  the  failure  of  their  elaborately  planned  expeditions 
against  the  Canadas.  No  less  than  four  attempts  at  mobiliza- 
tion of  troops  were  made  for  the  subjugation  of  the  French 
strongholds,  but  through  some  misfortune  each  proved  a  failure. 
In  the  meantime  the  French  and  Indians  were  flitting  from  place 
to  place  along  the  frontier,  frequently  making  an  incursion  into 
the  Connecticut  valley,  killing,  burning  and  plundering  as  they 
went.  They  kept  the  English  on  the  defensive,  but  would  not 
give  battle  without  an  advantage  on  their  side.  However,  in 
1713,  the  treaty  of  Utrecht^  ended  the  war  in  the  old  country  and 
soon  afterward  hostilities  ceased  in  America. 

After  the  end  of  Queen  Anne's  war  the  Connecticut  valley 
in  INIassachusetts  was  virtually  exempted  from  serious  disturb- 
ances until  about  the  beginning  of  the  final  struggle  for  suprem- 

'This  treaty  "serured  the  I'rotestant  succession  to  the  throne  :  also  the  sep- 
aration of  the  French  and  Spanish  crowns,  the  destruction  of  Dunkirk,  the 
enlargement  of  British  colonies  in  America,  and  a  full  satisfaction  from  France 
of  the  claims  of  the  allied  kingdoms.  Hritain,  Holland  and  Germany." 

(       60        ) 


COLONIAL  WABS 

acy  in  America  between  Great  Britain  and  France.  Yet  on  the 
northern  frontier  all  was  not  peace  and  quiet  during  this  com- 
paratively long  period.  In  1722  troubles  arose  between  the 
Massachusetts  and  Ncav  Hampshire  colonists  on  the  one  side,  and 
the  Abenaquis  Indians  on  the  other  side.  The  latter,  as  is  men- 
tioned in  an  earlier  chapter,  were  of  Canadian  ancestry,  and 
were  allied  to  the  French  throughout  the  dominion  of  that  power 
in  America  ;  and  from  their  country  east  and  north  of  the  Merri- 
mac  river,  they  were  a  constant  source  of  annoyance  to  the  Eng- 
lish towns  in  eastern  Massachusetts  and  New  Hampshire.  Treaty 
provisions  had  no  binding  effect  on  the  Indians,  and  if  they  chose 
to  make  Avar  against  the  English  it  was  not  a  matter  of  much  con- 
cern to  the  French  king,  even  if  one  of  his  missionary  represent- 
atives was  the  force  that  instigated  the  savages  against  the  Eng- 
lish. This  priest  was  Father  Sebastian  Rasle,  whose  principal 
mission  was  on  the  Kennebec  river,  although  in  the  journeyings 
of  the  Jesuit  fathers  in  the  province  of  New  York  the  surname 
is  found  among  the  missionaries  in  the  Iroquois  country. 

While  Father  Rasle  was  chiefly  instrumental  in  opposing 
the  Indians  against  the  English  colonists  during  the  troublous 
period  from  1722  to  1726,  the  real  leader  of  the  savages  was  the 
chief  Woronoak,  who  formerly  dwelt  on  the  Agawam  branch  of 
AVestfiekP  river  and  probably  within  the  limits  of  the  present 
town  of  AVestfield,  the  Indian  name  of  which  is  Woronoco.  When 
the  supposedly  friendly  Connecticut  river  Indians  joined  them- 
selves to  King  Philip,  the  red  men  living  at  Woronoco  were  of 
the  recreant  number,  and  they  afterward  took  part  in  all  the  dis- 
tressing events  enacted  in  the  valley  in  later  years ;  and  it  is  be- 
lieved that  the  chief  Woronoco,  or  AVoronoak,  had  a  hand  in  the 
burning  of  Springfield  and  in  the  subsequent  attacks  upon  West- 

^Many  writers  and  map  makers  have  given  to  tliis  stream  tlie  name  "Aga- 
wam" river,  in  allusion  to  the  early  Indian  occupants  of  the  locality.  Agawam 
in  the  Indian  tongue  means  lowland  or  marshland,  and  is  descriptive  of  the  char- 
acter of  the  land  near  the  mouth  of  the  stream.  The  Indian  village  in  the  locality 
also  was  called  Agawam,  and  from  this  combination  of  incidents  the  river  has 
mistakenly  been  called  by  that  name.  The  stream  in  fact  is  Westfield  river  and 
is  so  known  outside  of  West  Springfield.  It  is  proper,  however,  to  refer  to  that 
portion  of  the  stream  in  the  town  of  West  Springfield  as  the  Agawam  part  of  the 
river. 

(       61       ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

field.  On  being  driven  from  the  valley  his  people  occupied  lands 
on  the  Missisquoi  bay  and  river,  on  the  Canada  border  and  well 
under  the  protection  of  the  French,  yet  sufficiently  near  the  Eng- 
lish frontier  to  cause  the  colonists  constant  trouble. 

AVoronoco  also  was  known  as  "Gray  Loek,"^  so  called,  it  is 
claimed,  in  allusion  to  his  hoary  head,  but  we  are  not  aware  that 
the  bloodthirsty  old  savage  is  entitled  to  special  veneration  on 
that  account.  During  the  period  referred  to,  the  Indians  under 
Gray  Lock,  or  Woronoak,  made  frequent  raids  along  the  northern 
frontier  and  on  one  or  two  occasions  stole  down  the  Connecticut 
valley  to  the  region  of  their  former  abode  in  Springfield  and 
Westfield.  To  oppose  their  incursions  Fort  Dummer  was  built 
in  1724,  on  the  site  of  Brattleboro,  Vt.,  and  strong  garrisons  were 
posted  at  Deerfield  and  Northfield.  In  December,  1725,  a  treaty 
was  made  with  the  eastern  Indians,  the  same  being  ratified  in 
August,  1726. 

In  1744,  after  twenty  years  of  actual  peace,  war  again  was 
declared  between  England  and  France.  In  the  years  following 
the  treaty  of  Kyswick,  notwithstanding  the  troubles  incident  to 
the  so-called  "Father  Rasle"  uprising,  all  the  colonies  rapidly 
increased  in  population  and  industrial  importance,  and  settle- 
ments had  been  extended  to  the  extreme  western  part  of  INIassa- 
chusetts.  It  is  estimated  that  during  the  thirty  years  following 
Queen  Anne's  war  the  inhabitants  in  western  Massachusetts  in- 
creased more  than  threefold.  In  1748  the  English  colonies  in 
America  contained  more  than  a  million  inhabitants,  and  the 
French  had  only  about  sixty  thousand. 

AAHien  the  powers  again  had  recourse  to  arms  the  eastern 
colonies  were  compelled  to  extend  their  line  of  defenses  west- 
ward to  the  west  boundary  of  INIassachusetts.  Accordingly, 
Fort  Massachusetts  was  built  at  Hoosae  (now  Adams)  ;  Fort 
Shirley  was  built  in  the  town  of  Heath,  and  Fort  Pelham  was 
built  in  Rowe,  both  in  Hampshire  county.  Another  small  fort 
was  built  about  the  same  time  in  Blandford,  both  for  the  protec- 

'This  name,  more  frequently  rendered  "Greylock."  is  still  preserved  in  Massa- 
ohusett's  history,  and  is  applied  to  the  highest  mountain  peali  in  the  state.  Grey- 
lock  in  northwestern  Berkshire  county. 

(       62       ) 


COLONIAL  ^¥AR8 

tion  of  the  settlers  and  as  a  convenient  resting  place  for  troops 
and  travelers  journeying  between  the  Hudson  and  Connecticut 
rivers.  These  forts,  in  addition  to  Fort  Dummer,  were  designed 
to  afford  ample  protection  to  the  frontier.  Five  hundred  addi- 
tional men  were  raised  to  garrison  them,  of  which  number  two 
hundred  were  assigned  to  the  western  part  of  the  colony.  Cap- 
tain Williams  had  command  of  the  garrisons,  and  Col.  John  Stod- 
<lard,  of  Northampton,  had  command  of  the  Hampshire  county 
regiment,  whose  duty  was  to  guard  the  frontier  against  the  enemy 
in  general,  and  especially  against  the  Indians  who  swarmed  in 
the  regions  of  Vermont.  In  the  early  part  of  the  war  the  sav- 
ages made  many  threatening  demonstrations  on  the  borders  but 
were  careful  to  avoid  open  conflict  with  the  colonial  troops,  for 
evidently  they  had  become  aware  that  the  latter  were  hunting 
them  with  trained  dogs,  and  also  that  a  bounty  of  thirty  pounds 
was  offered  by  the  province  for  every  Indian  scalp. 

In  1744  and  '45  the  war  waged  most  bitterly  in  the  pro- 
vinces of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  and  the  west,  and  at  first 
the  French  were  generally  victorious.  In  1746  the  strife  ex- 
tended into  New  England,  and  on  August  20  Fort  Massachusetts 
fell  before  the  attack  of  jNlarquis  de  Yaudreuil.  It  was  bravely 
defended  by  Sergeant  John  Hawks  and  twenty-three  men,  who 
Tield  out  twenty-eight  hours  awaiting  expected  reinforcements. 
Soon  afterward  another  raid  was  made  in  the  vicinity  of  Deer- 
field  by  a  party  of  Yaudreuil's  Indians,  who  could  not  resist  the 
temptation  to  attack  and  injure  their  former  friends  in  the  val- 
ley. In  1747  Fort  iNIassaehusetts  was  rebuilt.  In  1748  Cap- 
tain Humphrey  Hobbs,  with  a  number  of  Springfield  men,  and 
Lieutenant  Alexander,  with  men  from  Northfield,  were  sent  to 
garrison  Fort  Shirley,  and  while  en  route  the  party  (forty-two 
men  all  told)  was  attacked  by  three  hundred  Indians,  command- 
ed by  a  half-breed  chief  named  Saekett  (supposed  to  be  the  son 
of  a  white  man  captured  at  AVestfield),  but  after  a  battle  of  four 
liours  the  savages  retired  with  considerable  loss. 

In  1748  the  treaty  of  Aix-la-Chapelle  temporarily  put  an  end 
to  hostilities,  but  left  unsettled  all  questions  in  dispute  between 
the  contending  powers,. while  the    fortresses   of   Louisburg  and 

(       63       ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

Crown  Point  were  returned  to  the  French  without  a  protest.  The 
treaty,  however,  did  not  immediately  stop  Indian  depredations, 
but  before  the  end  of  the  summer  peace  again  reigned  along  the 
frontier. 

The  contest  from  1744  to  1748  had  for  its  important  object 
the  possession  of  the  Mississippi  valley,  which  the  English 
claimed  as  an  extension  of  their  coast  discoveries  and  settlements, 
and  the  French  by  right  of  occupancy,  their  forts  already  ex- 
tending from  Canada  to  Louisiana,  and  forming  "a  bow,  of 
which  the  English  colonies  were  the  string". 

The  war  was  resumed  in  1755,  although  the  formal  declara- 
tion was  not  made  until  the  following  year.  The  necessity  for 
united  action  on  the  part  of  the  English  colonies  was  now  too  ap- 
parent to  be  overlooked,  but  old  differences  tended  to  prevent 
harmony  in  action.  Under  the  advice  of  the  British  ministry 
a  convention  of  delegates  from  all  the  colonial  assemblies  was 
held  in  Albany,  June  14,  1754.  One  ob.ject  of  the  convention 
was  to  secure  a  continued  alliance  with  the  powerful  Six  Na- 
tions (Avho  now  began  to  show  decided  leanings  toward  the 
French),  and  the  other  and  equally  important  object  was  to  per- 
fect plans  for  a  decisive  campaign  against  the  French  in  their 
own  strongholds. 

Four  expeditions  were  planned :  the  first  to  eft'ect  the  reduc- 
tion of  Nova  Scotia ;  the  second,  to  recover  the  Ohio  valley ;  the 
third,  to  expel  the  French  from  Fort  Niagara  and  then  form  a 
junction  with  the  Ohio  expedition,  and  the  fourth,  to  capture 
Crown  Point.  The  first  of  these  expeditions  was  entirely  suc- 
cessful;  the  second,  under  Braddock,  was  (chiefly  through  his 
own  folly)  disastrous  in  the  extreme;  the  third,  under  General 
Shirley,  was  also  unsuccessful;  and  the  fourth,  while  successful 
in  the  main,  was  a  dearly  bought  victory  for  the  Hampshire 
county  troops. 

The  command  of  the  army  designed  for  the  reduction    of 
Crown  Point  and  the  invasion  of  Canada  was  entrusted  to  Brig. 
Gen.  AYilliam  Johnson,  who  was  raised  from  the  rank  of  colonel 
for  that  purpose.      The  strength  of  the  force  was  5,000  men,  of 
whom  about  one-fifth  comprised  the  Hampshire  county  regiment 

(       64       ) 


COLONIAL  ^YAR8 

under  Colonel  Williams.^  In  the  latter  part  of  August  the 
army  reached  Fort  Edward  and  Lake  George,  and  there  en- 
camped to  await  reinforcements  and  also  to  construct  boats  to 
carry  them  to  Crown  Point  by  water.  On  September  8,  having 
learned  that  the  enemy  were  in  the  vicinity  and  approaching  in 
force  under  Baron  Dieskau,  Colonel  Williams'  Hampshire 
county  regiment  and  about  two  hundred  Mohawk  warriors  were 
sent  out  to  intercept  him ;  but  the  wily  Frenchman,  having  dis- 
covered the  hosts  of  the  English,  hastily  formed  an  ambuscade, 
into  which  the  latter  unsuspectingly  Avalked  at  a  point  within 
three  and  one-half  miles  from  Johnson's  camp.  The  English 
and  Mohawks  were  attacked  so  suddenly  and  fiercely  that  they 
were  thrown  into  the  greatest  confusion  and  fled  back  to  the 
main  army.  Their  position  was  of  the  worst  possible  character, 
and  precipitate  retreat  alone  saved  them  from  utter  destruction. 
The  French  attempted  to  follow  up  this  temporary  advantage  by 
attacking  the  main  army,  but  the  result  was  disastrous  to  the 

K'olonial  Ephraim  Williams  was  one  of  tlie  bravest  and  most  capable  officers 
in  the  colonial  service  during  the  later  French  and  English  wars.  In  the  year 
preceding  he  had  been  appointed  to  command  the  line  of  fortifications  stretching 
across  tlie  frontier  of  Massachusetts,  and  in  1754  he  was  commissioned  by  Gover- 
nor Shirley  to  command  the  Hampshire  county  troops  in  the  campaign  against 
Crown  Point  and  the  Canadas.  Holland  says  :  "Before  he  left  Albany,  in  the 
campaign  that  proved  fatal  to  him,  he  made  his  will,  in  which,  after  assigning  to 
several  of  his  relatives  and  friends  appropriate  bequests,  he  directed  'that  the 
remainder  of  his  land  should  be  sold,  at  the  discretion  of  his  executors,  within 
five  years  after  an  established  peace  ;  and  that  the  interest  of  moneys  arising 
from  the  sale,  and  also  the  interest  on  his  notes  and  bonds,  should  be  applied  to 
the  support  of  a  free  school  in  a  township  west  of  Fort  Massachusetts  (the  local- 
ity of  his  old  command)  forever;  providing  that  said  township  fall  within  Massa- 
chusetts, upon  running  the  line  between  Massachusetts  and  New  York,  and  pro- 
vided the  said  township  when  incorporated,  shall  be  called  Williamstown.'  On 
this  basis  arose  Williams  college,  one  of  the  noblest  and  most  useful  literary  insti- 
tutions of  New  England." 

Col.  Israel  Williams,  of  Hatfield,  had  previously  commanded  the  northern 
regiment  of  Hampshire  county,  and  it  was  he  who  proposed  to  the  Massachusetts 
council  the  abandonment  of  some  of  the  old  forts  on  the  frontier  and  the  estab- 
lishment of  a  new  and  complete  line  of  smaller  fortifications,  stretching  across 
the  northern  and  western  frontiers.  With  slight  changes  his  plans  were  adopted, 
and  when  the  works  were  completed  Hampshire  county  was  well  protected 
against  Indian  incursions.  Capt.  Ephraim  Williams  had  command  of  the  old 
line  of  forts  and  also  was  commissioned,  with  the  rank  of  major,  to  command  the 
new  series  ;  but  he  was  subsequently  relieved  by  Governor  Shirley  and  commis- 
sioned colonel  of  the  Hampshire  county  regiment  that  took  part  in  the  cam- 
paign against  Crown  Point  and  Canada. 


5-1 


(       65       ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

brave  Dieskau,  who  was  wounded  and  taken  prisoner,  while  his 
army  in  turn  was  seriously  beaten.  But  of  all  the  troops  en- 
gaged in  this  battle  the  Hampshire  county  contingent  suffered 
most  heavily,  having  lost  forty-six  men  killed  and  twenty-four 
wounded.  The  entire  English  loss  was  216  killed  and  twenty- 
four  wounded.  The  Hampshire  officers  killed  were  Colonel 
Williams,  Major  Noah  Ashley,  Capts.  Moses  Porter,  Jonathan 
Ingersol  and  Elisha  Hawley,  Lieuts.  Daniel  Pomeroy,  Simon 
Cobb  and  Nathaniel  Burt  (of  LongmeadoAv),  and  Ensigns  John 
Stratton  and  Reuben  Wait. 

Three  principal  campaigns  were  planned  for  1756 ;  one 
against  Fort  Niagara,  a  second  against  Fort  Du  Quesne,  and  the 
third  against  Crown  Point,  with  the  ultimate  intention  of  pos- 
sessing the  Champlain  valley  and  the  strongholds  of  the  French 
in  Canada.  But  notwithstanding  the  elaborate  character  of 
these  campaigns  no  substantial  gains  were  made  by  the  English 
during  the  year,  while  the  French  were  active  everywhere.  The 
Hampshire  county  troops  were  on  the  frontier,  but  the  Indians 
scarcely  penetrated  the  country  beyond  the  cordon  of  forts  es- 
tablished two  years  before  by  Colonel  Williams. 

In  1757  the  campaign  was  arranged  by  the  English  in  pro- 
portions equal  to  that  of  the  previous  year,  and  similar  results 
were  achieved.  The  war  in  America  now  had  assumed  an  inter- 
national character  on  both  sides,  and  the  leading  military  men 
of  the  colonies  had  no  voice  in  the  councils  and  very  little  to  do 
except  to  obey  the  orders  issued  by  the  inefficient  otficers  sent  by 
the  crown ;  and  knowing  nothing  of  the  Indian  character  and  the 
savage  method  of  warfare,  these  orders  almost  invariably  were 
wrong  and  resulted  disastrously  to  the  colonists. 

The  principal  campaign  of  the  year  was  that  designed  to 
oppose  the  progress  of  Montcalm,  who  held  the  Champlain  val- 
ley and  threatened  the  English  posts  to  the  southward,  in  the 
valleys  of  the  Hudson  and  Connecticut  rivers.  But  instead  of 
taking  the  aggressive,  the  English  acted  on  the  defensive.  Mont- 
calm laid  siege  to  Fort  William  Henry,  and  after  a  stout  resist- 
ance Colonel  Monroe  was  forced  to  surrender,  although  only 
fifteen  miles  away  lay  General  Webb   (at  Fort  Edward)   with 

(       66       ) 


COLONIAL  WARS 

4,000  effective  men.  It  was  the  rank  cowardice  of  Webb  that 
lost  both  of  these  strong  posts  when  he  possessed  the  men  and 
means  to  achieve  a  signal  victory  over  the  French ;  but  as  the 
result  of  his  contemptible  action  southeastern  New  York  and  all 
of  New  England  was  practically  laid  open  to  the  enemy. 

Although  the  campaign  of  the  previous  year  had  been  one 
of  disaster  to  the  English,  that  very  fact  seemed  to  infuse  a  little 
spirit  into  the  ministry  through  that  gifted  statesman,  William 
Pitt.  A  million  and  a  half  of  people  inhabited  the  British  colo- 
nies, and  an  army  of  some  50,000  men  was  subject  to  the  com- 
mand of  Abercrombie.  Commercial  intercourse  with  the  mother 
country  was  almost  untrammeled,  and  there  seemed  no  sufficient 
reason  why  the  French  power  should  not  have  been  extinguished 
in  one  grand  movement.  The  predominance  of  the  English, 
however,  was  considerably  impaired  by  the  fact  that  the  French 
had  gained  stronger  influence  with  the  Indians,  and  the  Canadian 
population  was  more  concentrated,  while  above  all,  the  French 
cause  was  under  command  of  by  far  the  most  able  and  brilliant 
men.  In  the  language  of  a  contemporary,  "Britain  had  sent  to 
her  colonies  effete  generals,  bankrupt  nobles  and  debauched  para- 
sites of  the  court ;  France  selected  her  functionaries  from  the 
wisest,  noblest  and  best  of  her  people,  and  therefore  her  colonial 
interests  were  usually  directed  with  sagacity. ' ' 

The  English  had  supposed  that  Montcalm  would  follow  up 
his  victories  by  invading  the  province  of  Massachusetts,  and 
therefore  took  immediate  steps  to  oppose  his  progress.  To  this 
end  Governor  Pownal  ordered  a  large  body  of  militia  and  all  the 
cavalry  of  the  province  to  Spring-field,  to  be  placed  at  the  disposal 
of  Sir  William  Pepperell,  lieutenant-general  of  the  province,  a 
new  and  unknown  officer  and  the  holder  of  a  rank  previously 
unknown  in  the  colony..  But  Sir  William  was  an  officer  of  the 
crown,  and  was  supposed  to  be  more  than  able  to  cope  with  the 
enemy  under  Montcalm,  whose  advance  was  expected  during  the 
season.  A  regiment  of  artillery  was  ordered  to  be  raised  and  to 
rendezvous  at  the  same  place,  and  previous  to  this  time  Spring- 
field was  designated  as  a  depository  for  a  large  quantity  of  muni- 
tions of  war,  military  stores  and  provisions. 

(       67       ) 


OVR  COUyiY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

In  relation  to  the  events  of  local  importance  in  connection 
with  the  latter  part  of  the  French  and  English  war,  Mr.  Holland 
says :  ' '  Sir  William  was  ordered,  in  case  of  the  advance  of  the 
enemy,  to  have  the  Avheels  struck  off  all  the  wagons  west  of  the 
Connecticut,  to  drive  in  the  cattle  and  horses,  and  to  make  a 
stand  on  the  east  side.  The  similar  order,  given  eighty  years 
before,  for  the  inhabitants  of  the  west  side  to  repair  to  the  east, 
will  show  how  comparatively  slow  and  painful  had  been  the  prog- 
ress of  settlement  during  this  long  and  disturbed  period.  The 
garrisons  at  Foi-t  Massachusetts  and  West  Hoosac  Avere  strength- 
ened, and  preparations  made  in  every  quarter  for  defense  against 
a  foe  which  never  came.  When  it  was  found  that  ]\Iontcalm 
was  content  with  the  advantages  he  had  gained,  and  had  retired 
to  Ticonderoga  and  Crown  Point,  the  troops  were  recalled,  and 
the  usual  garrisons  reduced  to  their  ordinary  force.  From  this 
time  until  the  surrender  of  the  Canadian  province  to  Great  Brit- 
ain in  1760,  no  events  of  special  interest  occurred  in  the  western 
part  of  the  Massachusetts  colony,  except  the  closing  acts  of  In- 
dian hostility  that  took  place  on  the  20th  and  21st  of  March, 
1758." 

The  domination  of  France  in  America  was  ended  by  the  fall 
of  Quebec,  September  18,  1759,  thus  leaving  the  English  masters 
of  all  Canada,  for  the  surrender  of  Vaudreuil  on  September  8, 
of  the  next  year,  was  an  inevitable  result.  Although  hostilities 
between  the  two  nations  had  now  ceased,  a  formal  peace  was  not 
established  until  1763,  when,  on  February  10,  the  treaty  of 
Paris  was  signed,  by  Avhich  France  ceded  to  Great  Britain  all  her 
possessions  in  Canada. 


(       68       ) 


CHAPTER  VII 

WAR    OF    THE    REVOLUTION 

The  years  immediately  preceding  the  revolution  were  filled 
with  important  events  connected  with  the  history  of  Hampshire 
county;  and  in  no  part  of  the  entire  region  of  western  Massa- 
chusetts was  there  shown  more  determined  loyalty  to  the  cause 
for  which  the  American  colonists  Avere  contending  than  in  that 
part  of  the  mother  territory  which  was  afterward  set  off  to  form 
Hampden  county. 

The  political  situation  in  Hampshire  county  during  the 
revolution,  and  indeed  for  several  years  previous,  was  novel  and 
interesting,  since  it  included  influences  politically  antagonistic, 
while  socially  there  was  no  unfriendliness  among  the  pioneers. 
They  had  stood  together,  shoulder  to  shoulder,  in  many  a  hard 
fought  battle  with  the  savages  whom  in  earlier  years  they  had 
fed,  warmed  and  clothed,  and  now  their  interests  were  too  nearly 
identical  to  admit  of  serious  division  on  the  question  of  loyalty 
to  the  crown  or  loyalty  to  the  cause  of  the  American  colonists. 
Undoubtedly  there  existed  in  the  Connecticut  valley  a  diversity 
of  sentiment  as  to  the  rights  of  the  British  ministry  and  the  obli- 
gations of  the  colonists,  but  there  was  no  feeling  that  at  any  time 
took  the  form  of  organized  opposition  to  the  strong  measures 
adopted  by  the  Americans  in  resisting  the  unjust  burdens  sought 
to  be  put  upon  them  by  the  mother  country.  A  careful  examina- 
tion of  the  political  sentiment  in  the  valley  at  the  time  referred 
to  leads  to  the  conclusion  that  the  patriots  were  very  strongly  in 
the  majority,  and  if  there  were  a  few  scattered  "loyalists"  in 
the  region,  they  were  exceedingly  timid  in  expressing  their  views. 
In  other  words,  the  "Tory"  element  of  population  in  Hampshire 

(       69       ) 


OVB  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

county  at  the  beginning  of  or  during  the  war  for  independence 
was  too  weak  to  be  a  factor  in  any  circle  of  public  affairs. 

The  taxation  to  Avhich  the  colonists  were  subjected  by  the 
mother  country  really  began  almost  as  far  back  as  the  time  of 
the  overthrow  of  the  Dutch  power  in  America,  for  it  seems  to 
have  been  the  king's  determination  to  make  them  self-supporting 
even  from  the  beginning.  At  the  close  of  the  last  French  war 
the  burden  of  debt  was  very  heavy  on  Great  Britain,  but  it 
chietiy  was  created  by  the  wars  in  which  she  had  engaged  on  her 
own  side  of  the  Atlantic.  That  portion,  however,  incurred  by 
the  wars  on  this  continent  she  proposed  to  be  paid  by  the  colo- 
nies, notwithstanding  the  great  increase  of  her  domain  through 
these  wars. 

The  time  at  length  arrived  when  tame  submission  to  British 
imposition  could  no  longer  be  endured.  The  colonists  them- 
selves were  heavily  burdened  with  the  expenses  of  the  French 
wars,  which  resulted  so  favorably  to  England,  yet  almost  before 
the  smoke  of  the  battles  had  cleared  away  the  ministry  began  de- 
vising plans  to  tax  them  without  their  consent.  In  1764  a  proposi- 
tion was  submitted  to  the  house  of  commons  for  raising  a  reve- 
nue in  the  colonies  by  the  sale  of  stamps,  and  a  bill  to  that  effect 
was  passed  in  March,  1765.  It  was  bitterly  denounced  in  the 
colonies,  especially  in  New  York  and  Boston,  and  the  "Sons  of 
Liberty"  were  organized  to  oppose  the  obnoxious  law.  So  great 
was  the  popular  indignation  that  parliament  finally  repealed  the 
act,  but  this  was  done  more  to  satisfy  English  tradesmen  than 
to  relieve  a  distressed  people ;  and  in  its  place  were  enacted  other 
equally  oppressive  laws,  one  of  which  required  the  colonies  to 
pay  for  maintaining  a  British  army  in  New  York  city. 

In  1767  a  bill  was  passed  by  parliament  imposing  a  duty  on 
tea,  glass,  lead,  paper  and  painter's  colors  imported  by  the  colo- 
nies. This  renewed  the  opposition,  and  in  the  following  year 
the  Massachusetts  assembly  addressed  a  circular  letter  to  the  sis- 
ter colonies  soliciting  their  aid  in  defense  of  the  common  liberties. 
More  retaliation  followed,  for  the  British  ministry  was  so  wrath- 
ful that  a  letter  was  sent  to  each  of  the  colonial  governors  for- 
bidding their  assemblies  to  correspond  with  INIassachusetts.    This 

(       70       ) 


WAR  OF  THE  REVOLUTION 

mandate,  however,  was  ignored  and  most  of  the  assemblies  ac- 
companied their  disobedience  with  declarations  of  inherent  rights 
together  with  denunciations  of  parliament,  and  the  people  gen- 
erally sustained  their  representatives  in  their  action. 

Meanwhile  the  duties  had  been  removed  from  all  articles  ex- 
cept tea,  and  for  a  time  colonial  afit'airs  moved  more  smoothly. 
The  East  India  company,  conscious  of  the  injustice  in  placing  a 
duty  on  tea,  tried  to  have  the  latter  removed,  but  in  vain,  for  the 
ministry  still  boasted  its  right  to  tax  the  colonies ;  and  to  enforce 
the  British  claim,  in  17G8  General  Gage  with  a  thousand  troops 
was  stationed  in  Boston.  The  soldiers  of  the  crown  openly  in- 
sulted peaceful  citizens,  made  arrests  on  specious  pretexts,  and  in 
every  way  tried  to  overawe  the  populace  Avith  the  show  of  force. 
A  little  later  on  two  other  regiments  and  seven  armed  vessels 
sailed  into  the  harbor,  and  even  then  the  spirit  of  liberty  would 
not  be  restrained,  for  when  three  ships  laden  with  dutiable  tea 
anchored  in  the  harbor,  there  followed  the  event  which  has  ever 
been  known  as  the  ' '  Boston  Tea  Party. ' '  In  retaliation  for  this 
bold  defiance  the  ministry  closed  the  port  of  Boston  against  all 
commerce— an  outrage  which  awoke  national  indignation.  Pub- 
lic meetings  were  held  to  consider  the  common  grievances,  and 
among  the  plans  suggested  for  mutual  protection  was  the  assem- 
bling of  a  colonial  congress. 

The  "Continental  Congress"  was  held  in  Philadelphia  in 
September,  1774,  and  having  adopted  a  declaration  of  rights,  it 
added  a  petition  to  the  king  and  an  appeal  to  the  people  of  Great 
Britain  and  Canada.  The  delegates  from  Massachusetts  were 
James  Boudoine,  Thomas  Gushing,  Samuel  Adams,  John  Adams 
and  Robert  Treat  Paine.  The  congress  first  expressed  approval 
of  what  had  been  done  by  the  people  of  Boston  and  Massachu- 
setts, "warmly  exhorted  them  to  persevere  in  the  cause  of  free- 
dom, and  voted  that  contributions  should  be  made  for  them  in 
all  the  provinces." 

"The  inclinations  of  the  people  were  in  exact  accordance 
with  the  decision  of  the  congress.  The  inhabitants  of  Boston 
were  supplied  by  contributions  from  all  quarters.  Even  those 
who  by  their  station  seemed  likely  to  derive  advantage  from  the 

(       71       ) 


OVE  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

cessation  of  their  trade  were  most  forward  to  relieve  them  in 
their  distress.  The  people  of  Marblehead  offered  them  the  use 
of  their  hai'bor,  Avharves  and  warehouses  free  of  expense.  Every 
one  who  could  procure  arms  was  diligent  in  learning  their  use." 

"Complete  unanimity,  howevei',  did  not  exist.  Some  of  the 
late  emigrants  on  whom  England  had  bestowed  offices,  and  many 
who  feared  her  power,  clung  to  her  authority  and  declared  them- 
selves her  adherents.  Whigs  and  Tories  were  the  distinguishing 
names  of  the  parties.  The  former  favored  the  cause  of  the  colo- 
nists :  the  latter  that  of  Great  Britain. '  '^ 

In  Boston,  which  city  was  the  center  of  interest  and  patriot- 
ism in  the  early  years  of  the  revolution,  there  was  little  of  the 
tory  element  and  influence,  although  the  soldiers  of  the  king  were 
on  every  hand.  There  the  people  were  either  "loyalists"  or 
"patriots." 

General  Gage,  who  also  was  governor  under  appointment  of 
the  crown,  having  a  large  number  of  red  coats  quartered  on  Bos- 
ton common  and  elsewhere  in  the  city,  thought  prudent  to  fortify 
the 'narrow  strip  of  land  which  connected  the  city  with  the  main- 
land ;  and  he  also  took  f orcil)le  possession  of  a  quantity  of  pow- 
der, ammunition  and  other  military  stores  collected  by  the  pro- 
vincials at  Cambridge  and  Charlestown. 

In  the  latter  part  of  September  a  call  was  made  for  a  meet- 
ing of  the  provincial  assembly,  but  almost  immediately  the  gov- 
ernor forbade  the  sitting;  but  despite  the  executive  injunction 
the  representatives  met  at  Salem,  and  after  waiting  a  day  for  the 
governor's  arrival  (as  a  matter  of  form  only)  they  declared 
themselves  a  "provincial  congress,"  electing  John  Hancock  presi- 
dent and  assuming  charge  of  the  governmental  affairs  of  the  col- 
ony. The  delegates  adjourned  to  Concord,  and  on  reassembling 
the  congress  resolved,  "that  for  the  defense  of  the  province  a 
military  force  to  consist  of  one-fourth  of  the  militia  should  be  or- 
ganized and  stand  ready  to  march  at  a  minute's  warning."  Thus 
originated  that  remarkable  body  of  Massachusetts  soldiery 
known  as  "Minute  Men."     Before  the  adjournment  of  the  con- 

'Willard's  "Republic  of  America." 

(       72       ) 


WAR  OF  THE  REVOLUTION 

■gress  a  committee  of  safety  was  appointed  to  act  when  the  gen- 
eral body  was  not  in  session. 

Soon  after  the  worlc  of  the  provincial  congress  began  to  as- 
sume definite  form  in  tlie  organization  of  means  of  defense,  Gen- 
•eral  Gage  was  informed  that  the  colonists  had  collected  a  number 
of  field  pieces  at  Salem,  and  sent  a  body  of  soliders  to  take  them, 
in  the  name  of  the  king;  but  it  appears  that  the  assertion  of  the 
crown's  authority  had  not  the  awe-inspiring  effect  of  former 
years,  and  when  the  soldiers  were  advanced  to  a  bridge  which 
they  must  cross,  the  little  provincial  army  had  removed  the 
^'draw,"  hence  the  king's  soldiers  were  compelled  to  return  to 
Boston  without  having  accomplished  their  purpose. 

Gage's  next  order  to  his  troops  was  more  eventful,  for  it  pre- 
•cipitated  the  revolution ;  a  struggle  which  in  the  order  of  things 
must  come,  though  neither  side  was  fully  prepared  for  it  at  the 
time.  However,  in  a  defensive  warfare  the  Americans  had  been 
taught  by  a  century  and  more  of  almost  constant  strife^  to  be  pre- 
pared for  any  emergency  that  might  arise. 

In  April,  1775,  having  been  informed  that  the  Americans 
had  collected  a  large  quantity  of  ammunition  and  military  stores 
at  Concord,  General  Gage  sent  Colonel  Smith  and  Major  Pitcairn 
with  eight  hundred  British  soldiers  to  seize  and  destroy  what- 
ever the  ' '  rebels ' '  had  deposited  there.  Concord  was  about  twenty 
miles  distant  from  Boston.  The  British  were  directed  to  "pro- 
ceed with  the  utmost  expedition  and  with  all  possible  secrecy," 
their  commander  evidently  having  in  mind  the  failure  that  at- 

"^In  commenting  on  the  character  and  condition  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
Connecticut  valley  at  the  close  of  the  last  French  and  English  war.  Holland 
truthfully  and  aptly  says  :  "Prom  the  first  settlement  at  Springfield  until  the 
conquest  of  Canada  in  1760,  a  series  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-four  years  had 
passed  away,  and  by  far  the  larger  part  of  this  time  the  inhabitants  of  the  terri- 
tory embraced  in  old  Hampshire  had  been  exposed  to  the  dangers,  the  fears,  the 
toils  and  trials  of  Indian  wars  or  border  depredations.  Children  had  been  born, 
Tiad  grown  up  to  manhood,  and  descended  to  old  age,  knowing  little  or  nothing 
■of  peace  and  tranquillity.  Hundreds  had  been  killed  and  large  numbers  carried 
into  captivity.  Men.  women  and  children  had  been  butchered  by  scores.  There 
is  hardly  a  square  acre,  certainly  not  a  square  mile,  in  the  Connecticut  valley, 
that  has  not  been  tracked  by  the  flying  feet  of  fear,  resounded  with  the  groan 
of  the  dying,  drunk  tlie  blood  of  the  dead,  or  served  as  the  scene  of  toils  made 
•doubly  toilsome  by  the  apprehension  of  danger  that  never  slept." 

(       73       ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

tended  the  raid  on  the  Salem  supply  of  stores.  But  notwith- 
standing the  stringency  of  the  order,  the  provincials  were  pre- 
pared to  receive  the  soldiers  of  the  king  on  their  arrival  at  Lex- 
ington, five  miles  from  Concord,  on  the  morning  of  the  18th  of 
April.  The  British  found  the  militia  drawn  up  on  the  parade 
(common)  ready  to  receive  them.  The  advance  line  of  regulars 
approached  Avithin  musket  shot,  when  Major  Pitcairn  rode  forward 
and  exclaimed  ' '  Disperse,  you  rebels ;  throw  doAvn  your  arms  and 
disperse. ' '  But  the  order  not  being  obeyed  immediately,  he  dis- 
charged his  pistol  and  commanded  his  men  to  fire.  They  did 
fire  and  eight  men  were  killed.  The  militia  then  dispersed,  but 
the  firing  continued.  The  British  troops  proceeded  to  Concord 
and  took  possession  of  the  stores  deposited  there. 

Thus  was  begun  the  Avar  for  independence — the  American 
revolution,  as  known  in  the  history  of  nations ;  a  struggle  Avhich. 
continued  for  years  and  ultimately  resulted  in  the  establishment 
of  a  new  system  of  government  on  the  Avestern  continent,  a  free- 
and  independent  republic,  thenceforth  to  be  knoAvn  and  recog- 
nized among  the  poAvers  of  the  earth  as  the  United  States  of 
America. 

After  the  British  had  completed  their  Avork  of  destruction  at 
Concord  and  begun  the  return  march  to  Boston,  the  provincials 
folloAved  them  closely  on  all  sides,  attacking  them  so  savagely" 
that  the  triumphant  march  of  the  victors  became  a  disorderly  re- 
treat. At  Lexington  the  British  Avere  reinforced  by  nine  hundred 
men  under  Lord  Percy,  still  on  cA^ery  side  they  received  a  galling, 
killing  fire,  until  they  reached  the  heights  of  Bunker  Hill  and 
camped  for  the  night  under  the  protection  of  a  British  man  of 
Avar  that  lay  in  the  bay.  The  loss  to  the  British  in  the  first  bat- 
tle of  the  revolution  Avas  tAvo  hundred  and  seA'enty-three  men,. 
Avhile  the  provincials  lost  eighty-eight  men. 

Almost  before  the  echoes  of  Lexington's  guns  had  died  aAvay, 
mounted  couriers  Avere  speeding  across  the  country  to  the  remote- 
tOAvns  of  Massachusetts,  sounding  the  alarm  in  every  locality  and 
calling  the  minute  men  into  immediate  action.  On  April  19  the 
neAvs  reached  Springfield  and  Northampton  and  other  settlements 
in  the  valley,  and  on  the  morning  of  the  20th  the  militia  of  every" 
town  Avere  marching  tOAvard  Boston  on  the  old  "Bay  road." 

(       74       ) 


WAR  OF  THE  REVOLUTION 

The  original  order  left  by  the  courier  in  Springfield  has 
been  preserved  among  the  papers  in  the  city  clerk's  office,  and 
reads  as  follows : 

"Watertown,  Wednesday  Morning,  10  o'clock. 

"To  all  friends  of  American  liberty:  Be  it  known  that 
this  morning  before  break  of  day  a  brigade  consisting  of  about 
1,000  or  1,200  men  landed  at  Phips  farm  in  Cambridge  and 
marched  to  Lexington,  where  they  found  a  company  of  our  col- 
ony militia  in  arms ;  upon  whom  they  fired  without  any  provoca- 
tion and  killed  six  and  wounded  four  others.  By  an  express  this 
moment  from  Boston  we  find  another  brigade  are  now  on  their 
march  from  Boston,  supposed  to  be  about  1,000. 

"The  bearer,  Mr.  Isaac  Russell,  (is)  charged  to  alarm  the 
country  quite  to  Connecticut,  and  all  persons  are  desired  to  fur- 
nish him  with  such  horses  a.s  they  may  be  needed. 

' '  I  have  spoken  with  several  persons  who  have  seen  the  dead 
and  w'ounded. 

"Pray  let  the  delegates  from  this  colony  to  Connecticut  see 
this. 

"They  know 

"J,  Palmer 

"One  of  the  Com.  of  S y 

"Col.  Foster  is  one  of  the  delegates 

"A  true  Coppy" 

In  the  old  county  of  Hampshire  the  call  to  arms  found  the 
militia^  prepared  for  the  emergency,  and  the  tidings  of  battle 
occasioned  little  surprise.      In  the  early  summer  of  1774  county 

^The  Hampshire  county  minute  men  who  mai'ched  to  Boston  on  the  occasion 
of  the  Lexington  alarm,  having  enlisted  for  eight  months,  were  there  reorganized 
and  served  in  different  regiments.  Col.  Timothy  Danielson,  of  Brimfield,  had 
command  of  one  regiment,  in  which  were  Gl  men  from  Springfield  under  Capt. 
Gideon  Burt,  1st  Lieut.  Walter  Pynchon  and  lid  Lieut.  Aaron  Steel.  Westfleld 
sent  a  full  company  of  70  men — and  all  Westfleld  men — under  Capt.  Warham 
Parks  and  Lieuts.  John  Shepard  and  Richard  Falley.  W'est  Springfield  sent  53 
men  under  Capt.  Enoch  Chapin,  1st  Lieut.  Samuel  Flower  and  2d  Lieut.  Lulse 
Day.  Blandford  and  Murrayfleld  sent  a  company  of  3G  men  under  Capt.  John 
Ferguson.  Granville  furnished  60  men  under  Capt.  Lebbeus  Ball  and  1st  Lieut. 
Lemuel  Bancroft  of  Southwick.  Besides  Col.  Danielson,  the  other  regimental 
oflBcers  were  Lieut.-Col.  William  Shepard,  of  Westfleld,  and  Major  David  Lom- 
bard. 

(       75       ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

congresses  were  assembled  in  Northampton  and  Springfield,  and 
the  people  almost  to  a  man  declared  themselves  on  the  side  of  the 
colonists.  Delegates  were  sent  to  the  provincial  congress  that 
disputed  the  authority  of  Governor  Gage,  and  in  accordance  with 
the  recommendation  of  that  body,  every  town  in  the  county  or- 
ganized and  equipped  its  company  of  minute  men,  and  nearly 
all  appropriated  money  for  the  purchase  of  powder  and  lead. 

On  September  22  and  23  (1774)  a  convention  of  the  com- 
mittees of  safety  from  each  town  in  the  county,  except  Charle- 
mont  and  Southwick,  was  held  in  Northampton,  "to  consult 
upon  measures  to  be  taken  in  this  time  of  general  distress  in  the 
province,"  etc.  Timothy  Danielson,  of  Brimfield,  Avas  chosen 
chairman  and  Ebenezer  Hunt,  jr.,  of  Northampton,  clerk  of  the 
convention.  After  a  somewhat  prolonged  discussion,  a  com- 
mittee of  nine  reported  a  series  of  resolutions  similar  to  those 
adopted  by  other  county  congresses,  which  were  passed. 

"In  substance  the  resolutions  were,"  says  Holland,  "that 
the  county  did  not  intend  to  withdraw  from  allegiance  to  the 
king ;  that  the  charter  of  the  province  ought  to  be  kept  inviolate, 
and  that  the  inhabitants  had  not  violated  it;  that  the  subversive 
acts  of  the  British  parliament,  being  before  the  continental  con- 
gress, they  would  not  act  with  regard  to  them ;  that  the  acts  of 
Governor  Gage  were  destructive  of  their  rights,  and  that  it  was 
doubtful  whether  he  was  the  constitutional  governor,  and 
whether  his  acts  ought  to  be  of  any  validity, ' '  etc. 

The  leading  events  of  the  revolution  took  place  outside  the 
limits  of  Hampshire  county,  and  not  once  during  the  period  of 
the  war  was  hostile  foot  set  on  its  soil.  Still,  in  the  war  the 
county  played  an  important  part,  and  Springfield  was  a  central 
point  of  operations.  The  town  was  an  appointed  rendezvous 
for  troops,  an  important  military  depot,  and  at  one  period  can- 
non were  made  there.  On  the  order  of  General  Gates,  General 
Mattoon  came  from  Amherst  with  a  number  of  men  and  took  the 
cannon  to  Saratoga,  and  they  were  used  with  telling  effect  in 
that  memorable  battle  in  1777,  when  the  British  received  their 
first  decisive  check  at  the  hands  of  the  Americans. 

AVithin  ten  days  after  the  call  to  arms  nearly  20,000  minute 
men  were  assembled  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston,  but  General  Gage 

(       76       ) 


WAR  OF  THE  -REVOLUTION 

had  so  fortified  his  position  that  an  attack  was  useless,  while,  on 
the  other  hand,  the  British  force  was  too  Aveak  to  attack  the 
Americans.  Gradually  a  part  of  the  latter  withdrew  and  at- 
tached themselves  to  other  commands,  while  still  others,  whose 
immediate  service  was  not  required,  returned  to  their  homes. 
iNIany  of  them  were  again  called  into  service  in  June  following, 
when  the  Americans  established  a  fortified  camp  on  Breed's  hill, 
thereby  hoping  to  prevent  Gage  from  threatened  invasion  of  the 
province ;  and  there  Avere  Hampshire  men  in  the  battle  which 
was  fought  on  the  morning  of  June  17,  when  the  British  went 
out  in  force  to  dislodge  the  Americans  from  their  position  on  the 
hill.  At  length  they  were  compelled  to  retire,  but  not  until 
they  had  twice  repulsed  the  enemy  and  their  own  ammunition 
was  exhausted.  In  the  battle — always  known  as  "Bunker  Hill" 
—the  Americans  lost  450  and  the  British  1,050  men.  General 
AYarren  was  killed,  yet  Colonel  Prescott  was  the  real  commander 
of  the  provincials  during  the  fight.  These  officers  had  been 
elected  by  the  troops,  and  thus  far  no  recognized  military  system 
was  established.  The  men  fought  independently,  but  they 
fought  viciously,  and  every  onward  step  of  the  enemy  was  made 
at  the  cost  of  many  men. 

On  June  15,  1775,  two  days  before  the  battle  of  Bunker 
Hill,  the  continental  congress  appointed  George  AVashinglon 
commander-in-chief  of  the  American  army.  Soon  afterward  he 
visited  Boston  to  take  command  of  the  troops  in  that  locality; 
and  on  the  journey  thither  he  passed  through  Springfield,  tak- 
ing the  "Boston  road,"  and  resting  under  the  protecting 
branches  of  the  "Washington  elm,"  in  the  town  of  Palmer. 

Arrived  at  Boston,  AYashington  found  about  14,000  minute 
men,  patriots  every  one,  willing  to  fight  under  his  leadership,  but 
unfortunately  they  had  no  knowledge  of  military  methods  and 
discipline.  On  June  25  the  general  court  ordered  that  5,000 
men  be  raised  in  this  province,  and  of  the  number  Hampshire 
county's  quota  was  754.  Springfield  was  required  to  furnish 
forty-four,  Brimfield  seventeen,  "Wilbraham  twenty-four.  West 
Springfield  forty-eight,  and  Westfield  thirty-one  men.  The 
troops  raised  in  the  county,  comprising  just  a  battalion,  were  in- 

(       77       ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AXD  ITS  PEOPLE 

tended  for  service  in  Canada  and  on  the  northern  frontier,  and 
they  were  offered  a  bounty  of  seven  pounds  each.  During  the 
first  winter  in  the  northern  region  their  sufferings  were  terrible 
and  the  people  at  home  were  taxed  to  their  utmost  capacity  to 
provide  them  with  proper  clothing  and  blankets.  In  January, 
1776,  an  order  of  the  general  court  reciuired  that  three  hundred 
blankets  be  furnished  by  the  county,  Springfield's  portion  being 
twelve,  Wilbraham's  six,  and  Westfield's  thirty-two. 

In  April,  1777,  two  battalions  of  750  men  each  were  ordered 
raised  in  Hampshire  county,  for  two  months'  service  at  Ticon- 
deroga.  On  February  5  a  convention  of  the  committees  of 
safety  of  the  several  towns  of  the  county  was  held  at  Northamp- 
ton "for  the  purpose  of  taking  into  consideration  the  suffering 
condition  of  the  northern  army,"  and  in  order  to  furnish  imme- 
diate relief  to  the  men  from  old  Hampshire,  the  supplies  wei-e 
at  once  forwarded,  ' '  not  doubting  that  the  general  court  will  ap- 
prove thereof,"  as  the  proceedings  recite. 

Next  to  the  sufferings  of  the  troops  the  committees'  greatest 
anxiety  was  the  annoying  attitude  of  the  tories  of  the  county, 
who  had  taken  hope  and  courage  through  the  success  of  the  Brit- 
ish in  the  contest  thus  far  waged.  Addressing  their  grievances 
to  the  general  court,  the  committees  say :  ' '  Ever  since  our  army 
retreated  from  New  York,  and  the  inhumane  ravage  of  the  Brit- 
ish troops  in  the  Jersies,  our  inimical  brethren  have  appeared 
Avith  an  insulting  air,  and  have  exerted  themselves  to  intimidate 
weak  minds  by  threatening  speeches,  saying  that  the  day  was 
over  with  us." 

"Their  reflections  on  the  General  Court,  openly  declaring 
that  our  Honorable  Court  of  this  State  had  made  acts  that  were 
unjust,  respecting  the  last  raised  recruits,  declaring  that  the 
committees  or  selectmen  dare  as  well  be  damned  as  to  draught 
them  for  the  army,  and  that,  if  they  were  draughted,  they  would 
rather  fight  against  our  own  men  than  against  our  enemies." 

Notwithstanding  the  seriousness  of  this  charge  on  the  part 
of  the  zealous  committees,  the  general  court  seems  not  to  have 
taken  cognizance  of  the  matter,  but  to  have  left  the  patriots  to 
work  out  their  punishment  upon  the  offenders  in  due  course  of 

(       78       ) 


WAF  OF  THE  REVOLUTION 

time ;  and  the  day  of  reckoning  did  come  and  righteous  retribu- 
tion was  visited  on  all  British  sympathizers  who  dare  not  openly 
fight  for  the  king  through  fear  of  losing  their  property  by  con- 
fiscation. It  appears  not  to  have  been  the  policy  of  Massachu- 
setts to  take  away  the  lands  and  chattels  of  those  who  differed 
with  the  Americans  during  the  revolution,  but  in  other  states, 
particularly  in  New  York,  large  estates  were  forfeited,  and  were 
sold  to  raise  means  to  prosecute  the  war. 

In  April,  1778,  two  thousand  men  were  required  to  be  raised 
to  fill  up  the  fifteen  continental  battalions  which  the  state  had 
furnished,  the  Hampshire  quota  being  242  men;  and  a  fine  oP 
twenty  pounds  was  imposed  as  a  penalty  upon  those  who  refused 
to  go.  (  In  this  way  the  general  court  got  its  first  fling  at  the 
Tories.)  The  term  of  service  was  nine  months,  each  man  being 
allowed  six  pence  a  mile  for  traveling  and  $6  for  a  blanket.  On 
the  same  day  another  order  called  for  1,300  men  for  service  on 
North  (Hudson)  river,  this  county  being  required  to  send  182 
men.  Later  on  199  more  men  were  called  for  from  the  county 
to  serve  in  Ehode  Island,  but  afterward  this  order  was  modified, 
and  100  men  from  the  south  part  of  the  county  were  sent  to 
Rhode  Island,  and  the  remainder  joined  Gen.  John  Stark  in  Al- 
bany. 

In  June,  1779,  an  order  was  issued  for  102  men  from  Hamp- 
shire county  to  serve  in  Rhode  Island  until  the  following  Janu- 
ary, and  to  be  paid  sixteen  pounds  per  month  in  addition  to  the 
regular  continental  pay.  At  the  same  time  2,000  more  men  were 
ordered  to  be  raised  to  fill  up  the  ranks  of  the  fifteen  continental 
battalions  of  the  state.  The  troops  raised  under  this  call  were 
to  rendezvous  at  Springfield,  and  Justin  Ely  was  to  care  for  and 
turn  them  over  to  the  officers  sent  to  receive  them.  The  term 
of  service  was  nine  months,  and  the  penalty  for  refusing  to  serve 
was  forty-five  pounds.  Of  this  number  of  men  228  were  re- 
quired from  this  county.  In  October  following  450  more  men 
were  asked  from  loyal  old  Hampshire,  to  serve  in  co-operation 
with  the  French  allies  of  the  Americans.  The  penalty  for  re- 
fusing to  obey  this  call  was  fifty  pounds.  The  men  received  as 
pay  sixteen  pounds  per  month  in  addition  to  regular  pay,  and 

(       79       ) 


o 


WAR  OF  THE  REVOLUTION 

also  received  a  bounty  of  thirty  pounds  from  the  towns  from 
which  they  enlisted. 

In  addition  to  the  many  men  called  for  by  the  military  au- 
thorities, old  Hampshire  county  was  asked  to  contribute  clothing 
for  the  use  of  the  men  in  the  field.  In  1778  a  general  order  was 
issued  calling  for  sheets,  shoes  and  stockings  for  the  army,  and 
AVilliam  Scott,  of  Palmer,  was  apopinted  collecting  agent  for  the 
county.  In  1779  another  call  for  clothing  was  made,  and  the 
practice  was  continued  throughout  the  period  of  the  war. 

These  supplies  were  furnished  willingly,  although  the  inhab- 
itants were  seriously  burdened  with  expenses  growing  out  of  the 
contest.  Mr.  Holland  describes  them  as  an  "immense  draught 
upon  the  physical  resources  of  AVestern  Massachusetts,  in  con- 
nection with  the  other  sections  of  the  state  and  country."  "So 
weak,"  writes  he,  "became  the  towns  after  two  or  three  years 
had  passed  away,  so  necessary  was  it  to  remain  at  home  for  the 
maintenance  of  wives  and  children,  that  many  of  these  requisi- 
tions were  not  complied  with,  the  draughted  men  paying  their 
fines  and  refusing  to  leave  their  homes.  It  is  recorded  in  a  jour- 
nal kept  by  the  minister  in  Westfield,  at  that  time,  that  when,  on 
the  13th  of  May,  1778,  a  requisition  was  made  for  men  from  that 
town  'Noah  Cobley  and  Paul  Noble  went,  and  David  Fowler, 
Roger  Bagg,  Enoch  Holcomb,  Joseph  Dewey,  Simeon  Stiles, 
Jacob  Noble,  Benjamin  Sexton,  John  Moxley,  Martin  Root, 
Stephen  Fowler,  Eli  Granger,  Roger  Noble  and  Daniel  Fowler 
paid  their  fines." 

Although  the  contest  between  Great  Britain  and  her  former 
American  colonies  was  virtually  at  an  end  in  1780,  a  formal  peace 
was  not  established  until  the  treaty  of  Paris  was  signed,  Septem- 
ber 3,  1783.  The  closing  years  of  the  struggle  found  Great  Brit- 
ain in  actual  conflict  Avith  several  European  powers,  yet  she  suc- 
ceeded in  resisting  them  and  kept  reinforcing  her  American 
armies  with  fresh  supplies  of  troops.  At  length,  however,  all 
hope  of  subduing  her  rebellious  subjects  had  vanished,  and  the 
English  people  clamored  loudly  for  a  discontinuance  of  the  war. 
Soon  afterward  the  house  of  commons  voted  "that  they  should 
consider  as  enemies  to  his  majesty  and  their   country,    all    who 


6-1 


(      81       ) 


o 


cc 


WAR  OF  THE  REVOLUTION 

should  advise  or  attempt  a  further  prosecution  of  offensive  war 
on  the  continent  of  America." 

THE   UNITED   STATES   ARMORY. 

The  establishment  of  a  national  armory  or  gun  works  at 
Springfield  had  its  inception  in  an  act  of  congress  passed  in  1776, 
by  which  the  suggestion  was  made  that  Massachusetts  construct 
an  armory  at  Brookfield  for  manufacture  of  arms,  cartridges  and 
other  munitions  of  war.  It  had  been  the  first  intention  of  Gen- 
eral AVashington  to  found  the  works  at  Hartford,  but  on  the  rep- 
resentation of  Col.  David  Mason  to  General  Knox  that  Spring- 
field was  a  more  suitable  location,  the  act  finally  designated  that 
town  as  the  site  of  the  establishment.  Colonel  Mason  had  served 
as  an  artillery  officer  in  the  last  French  and  English  war,  and  he, 
under  the  committee  of  safety  of  JNIassachusetts,  collected  at 
Salem  the  cannon  and  military  stores  which  the  British  in  1775 
sought  to  capture.  In  1776  several  cannon  were  cast  in  Spring- 
field, and  gave  excellent  service  during  the  next  year  in  the  bat- 
tle at  Saratoga.  Colonel  Mason  was  placed  in  charge  of  the 
works  at  Springfield,  and  under  his  direction  was  founded  that 
which  has  proved  one  of  the  most  extensive  labor  employing  in- 
dustries in  New  England. 

In  treating  of  the  early  history  of  the  armory  one  authority 
says:  "Before  and  at  the  time  of  the  adoption  of  the  constitu- 
tion of  the  United  States,  there  were  standing  in  the  town  of 
Springfield,  on  land  owned  by  the  town,  divers  buildings  erected 
and  occupied  by  the  United  States  as  arsenals,  in  which  they  then 
had,  and  always  since  have  had,  large  quantities  of  guns  and 
other  military  stores ;  and  one  building  erected  by  them  as  a  pow^- 
der  magazine." 

On  April  2,  1794,  congress  passed  an  act  authorizing  the 
erection  and  maintenance  of  arsenals  and  magazines  for  military 
purposes ;  and  in  accordance  with  the  act,  on  June  22,  1795,  land 
on  Mill  river  was  purchased  by  the  secretary  of  state,  in  trust 
for  the  United  States.  On  May  14,  1798,  congress  authorized 
the  president  to  lease  or  purchase  land  for  the  erection  of  foun- 
dries for  the  manufacture  of  cannon  and  armories  for  the  con- 

(       83       ) 


o 


WAR  OF  THE  REVOLUTION 

struction  of  small  arms.  On  June  25,  1798,  a  law  of  this  com- 
monwealth gave  consent  that  the  United  States  purchase  land  in 
Springfield,  not  exceeding  640  acres  in  extent,  "for  the  sole  pur- 
pose of  erecting  forts,  magazines,  arsenals  and  other  needful 
buildings." 

The  armory  was  established  in  1794,  and  in  the  next  year 
the  manufacture  of  arms  was  begun.  The  first  land  purchase 
on  INIill  river  was  made  in  1793,  and  in  that  location  the  forgings 
for  arms  were  made.  A  second  tract  on  the  river  was  acquired 
in  1798.  The  committee  to  superintend  the  transfer  of  title  to 
the  government  comprised  George  Bliss,  John  Hooker  and  Wil- 
liam Ely.  The  upper  watershops  were  built  in  1809.  The  tract 
know^n  as  "Federal  square"  was  purchased  in  1812, 

By  various  purchases  under  the  acts  and  proceedings  men- 
tioned in  preceding  paragraphs  the  government  became  owner 
of  a  considerable  tract  of  land  in  the  town  of  Springfield,  much 
of  which  is  now  very  valuable.  In  the  early  years  of  the  past 
century  the  old  training  ground,  on  which  the  first  armory  build- 
ings w^ere  erected,  was  outside  the  business  and  residence  district 
of  Springfield,  but  with  constant  municipal  growth  the  entire 
region  was  subsequently  built  up.  Much  good  has  come  to  the 
town  from  this  institution,  although  the  inhabitants  of  West 
Springfield  protested  against  a  proposition  to  erect  the  shops  in 
that  town,  on  the  ground  that  the  expected  presence  of  a  soldier 
element  in  that  locality  would  have  a  demoralizing  tendency 
upon  the  youth  and  otherwise  disturb  the  well-being  of  the  com- 
munity. 

Since  the  works  began  operations  no  large  bodies  of  troops 
have  been  quartered  there,  while  at  times  several  thousand  me- 
chanics have  been  employed  in  the  manufacture  of  arms  and  am- 
munition. The  old  magazine,  which  was  built  in  a  piece  of 
woods,  at  one  time  was  regarded  as  a  menace  to  the  safety  of  the 
locality,  was  removed  in  1846,  and  a  public  street  was  laid  out 
over  its  site. 

It  cannot  be  considered  within  the  proper  scope  of  the  pres- 
ent chapter  to  follow  in  detail  the  history  of  the  armory,  its 
buildings  and  properties,  yet  in  the  growth  of  Springfield  as  a 

(       85       ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

city  it  has  been  a  factor  for  good  for  more  than  a  century.  The 
number  of  employees  has  varied  Avith  the  requirements  of  the 
government.  At  times  during  the  war  of  1861-65  as  many  as 
3,500  men  were  employed,  and  in  1866  the  number  of  muskets 
made  reached  the  extraordinary  sum  of  almost  277,000.  In  1795 
only  275  guns  were  made,  and  only  forty  men  were  employed. 
In  1811,  just  before  the  second  war  with  Great  Britain,  the  num- 
ber increased  to  more  than  12,000.  About  the  time  of  the  war 
with  ]\Iexico  there  was  another  period  of  increased  activity,  and 
again,  at  the  outbreak  of  the  war  with  Spain,  the  works  Avere  run 
with  a  full  complement  of  men.  The  north  shops  and  the  west 
arsenal  were  burned  in  1824, 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

THE  INSURRECTION  OF  1786-87— THE  SHAYS  REBELLION 

"The  history^  of  the  insurrection  in  Massachusetts— com- 
monly called  the  'Shays  rebellion'— is  interesting  as  the  record 
of  the  only  serious  attempt  ever  made  against  the  authority  of 
the  state  government.  The  insurrection  having  first  taken  an 
organized  form  in  the  Connecticut  valley,  and  having  here  met 
its  final  overthrow,  the  preservation  of  local  facts  concerning  it 
is  expressly  within  the  province  of  this  society." 

"The  insurrection  was  the  result  of  a  condition  of  things 
now  popularly  known  as  'hard  times.'  It  did  not  originate  so 
much  in  disaffection  toward  the  state  government  as  in  an  un- 
controllable impulse  of  a  distressed  people  to  seek  relief  in  some 
way,  or  any  way.      The  long  and  burdensome  war-  of  the  revo- 

K'ompiled  from  William  L.  Smith's  historical  address,  published  in  Conn. 
Val.  Hist.  Society's  collections. 

=At  the  close  of  the  war  the  state  debt  amounted  to  more  than  1.300,000 
pounds,  and  there  was  due  the  Massachusetts  officers  and  soldiers  not  less  than 
2.50.000  pounds,  while  the  proportion  of  the  federal  debt  for  which  the  state  was 
responsible  was  at  least  1,500,000  pounds.  Every  town  was  also  in  debt  for 
supplies  it  had  furnished  its  soldiers. — Holland. 

(       86       ) 


THE  SHAYS  REBELLION 

lution  had  just  been  brought  to  a  close.  The  country  was  im- 
poverished. The  continental  paper  money  had  become  worth- 
less, and  no  substitute  for  it  had  been  provided.  There  w^as  no 
trade,  no  demand  for  labor,  no  way  in  which  the  value  of  prop- 
erty of  any  kind  could  be  measured.  Under  the  barbarous  laws 
then  in  force,  the  jails  were  becoming  filled  with  prisoners  whose 
only  offense  was  their  inability  to  pay  their  debts.  Men  who 
had  nothing  to  do  but  to  talk  about  their  grievances  and  dis- 
tresses Avere  excited  to  turbulence,  and  local  disturbances  were 
frequent  and  serious.  The  authorities  were  too  often  in  sym- 
pathy with  the  offenders  against  the  law,  and  guilty  parties  went 
unpunished.  The  state  constitution,  adopted  in  1780,  was 
viewed  with  disfavor  by  a  large  minority  of  the  people,  and  was 
not  regarded  as  securely  established.  The  constitution  of  the 
United  States  had  not  then  been  framed,  and  all  existing  govern- 
ment was  merely  experimental." 

"There  was  at  that  time  no  law  for  the  equitable  distribu- 
tion of  a  debtor's  property  among  his  creditors.  The  executions 
of  the  creditors  were  levied  in  the  order  in  Avhich  their  attach- 
ments were  made,  and  each  creditor  was  satisfied  in  his  turn  un- 
til all  were  paid,  or  the  debtor's  estate  was  exhausted.  A  man 
whose  credit  was  suspected  found  his  property  covered  by  at- 
tachments at  once,  and  in  the  condition  of  things  then  existing 
a  very  slight  circumstance  excited  suspicion.  Litigation  became 
general.  The  state  was  showered  with  executions,  and  large 
amounts  of  property  were  sold,  for  almost  nothing,  to  satisfy 
them.  In  the  unreasoning  excitement  of  the  time,  the  courts, 
lawyers  and  sheriflPs  were  denounced  in  the  wildest  terms  as  the 
promoters  of  the  suffering  that  men  were  inflicting  upon  each 
other.  A  cry  arose  that  the  courts  ought  to  be  abolished. 
Threats  were  made  that  the  courts  should  not  be  allowed  to  sit, 
that  no  more  suits  should  be  entered  and  no  more  executions 
issued.  It  Avas  such  a  wild  clamor  as  this  that  led  to  the  first 
overt  act  in  resistance  to  the  laAvf ul  authority. ' ' 

"There  was  no  general  insurrection  until  the  summer  of 
1786,  but  as  early  as  1783  a  bold  attempt  Avas  made  at  Spring- 
field to  break  up  the  session  of  the  court  of  common  pleas.      The 

(       87       ) 


01  R  COrXTY  AXD  ITS  PEOPLE 

'IMassaehusetts  Gazette  and  General  Advertiser,'  then  printed  in 
Springfield,  of  May  27,  gives  this  account  of  it :  '  On  Tuesday 
last,  being  the  day  on  which  the  general  sessions  of  the  peace  and 
the  court  of  common  pleas  opened  in  this  town,  a  banditti,  col- 
lected from  the  obscure  corners  of  the  county,  composed  of  men 
of  the  most  infamous  character,  to  the  amount  of  about  sixty  in 
number,  met  in  this  town  to  prevent  the  sitting  of  the  court. 
.  .  .  They  showed  no  disposition  to  attack  the  courts  in  the 
forenoon;  at  two  o'clock  they  met  at  a  public  house 
in  the  town,  and  resolved  themselves  to  be  a  convention  of  the 
county,  met  together  for  the  purpose  of  redressing  grievances ; 
after  having  passed  several  important  resolves  they  adjourned 
their  convention  to  the  elm  tree  near  the  court  house ;  when  the 
bell  rang  for  the  court,  they,  in  hostile  parade,  armed  wath  white 
bludgeons  cut  for  that  purpose,  marched  before  the  door  of  the 
court  house,  and  when  the  court,  headed  by  the  sheriff,  came  to 
the  door,  with  insolence  opposed  their  entrance ;  the  sheriff,  in 
mild  tones  of  persuasion,  addressing  them  as  gentlemen,  desired 
them  to  make  way.  His  civility  was  repaid  with  outrage,  and  an 
action  soon  commenced ;  happily  there  was  a  collection  of  people 
friendly  to  the  government  present,  and  the  mob  was  repulsed 
with  broken  heads.  A  number  of  them  were  instantly  taken 
and  connnitted  to  prison ;  after  which,  by  a  regular  procedure, 
they  were  brought  before  the  court  of  sessions  for  examination, 
and  were  bound  to  appear  before  the  supreme  court.'  " 

"The  court  house  then  stood  on  the  east  side  of  ]\Iain  street, 
directly  opposite  JMeeting-house  lane,  which  has  since  become  Elm 
street.  Its  site  is  now  occupied  by  Sanford  street.  The  elm 
tree  under  which  the  rioters  held  their  'convention'  stood  on  the 
east  side  of  Main  street,  and  two  or  three  rods  south  of  the  court 
house. ' ' 

"The  legislature  of  1786  was  elected  at  a  time  of  great  ex- 
citement. Many  of  the  men  who  had  hitherto  been  entrusted 
with  the  responsibilities  of  legislation,  and  were  prominent  in  the 
service  of  the  state,  were  superseded  by  inexperienced  and,  in 
many  cases,  by  utterly  unfit  persons.  Patriots  of  the  revolu- 
tion, whose  eloquence  had  aroused  the  spirit  that   carried    the 

(       88       ) 


THE  SHAYS  REBELLION 

country  triumphantly  through  the  war  of  independence,  were  de- 
feated as  candidates  merely  because  they  happened  to  be  lawyers. 
When  the  legislature  assembled  various  visionary  schemes  were 
brought  forward,  among  them  a  proposition  that  the  state  should 
go  into  the  business  of  manufacturing  paper  money.  .  .  . 
The  legislature  proceeded  deliberately,  influenced  no  doubt  by 
the  conservative  sentiment  of  Boston,  and  finally  rejected  the 
proposition;  and  the  senate  stood  firmly  in  the  way  of  other  dan- 
gerous schemes.  Thereupon  there  arose  a  new  clamor.  It  was 
declared  that  the  senate  should  be  abolished  and  that  the  legisla- 
ture should  not  continue  to  hold  its  sessions  at  Boston ;  and  the 
agitators  proceeded  to  supplement  their  declamations  by  formal 
organization." 

' '  On  the  28th  of  August  delegates  from  fifty  towns  in  Hamp- 
shire county  met  in  convention  at  Hatfield  and  held  a  session  of 
three  days.  .  .  .  The  paper  money  party  was  in  strong 
force.  The  men  who  'had  fought  for  liberty  and  meant  to  have 
it, '  were  there :  and  liberty,  as  they  understood  it.  was  defined  by 
one  of  their  leaders  in  a  speech  at  West  Springfield.  Liberty, 
he  said,  'is  for  every  man  to  do  as  he  pleases,  and  to  make  other 
folks  do  as  you  please  to  have  them. '  ' ' 

"The  convention  solemnly  voted  'that  this  meeting  is  con- 
stitutional,' and  issued  a  declaration  of  its  purposes.  .  .  . 
They  wanted,  among  various  other  things,  a  revisal  of  the  state 
constitution,  the  abolition  of  the  senate  and  of  the  court  of  com- 
mon pleas,  and  more  paper  money.  The  convention  called  upon 
other  counties  to  organize,  and  took  care  to  go  through  the  form 
of  advising  the  people  to  abstain  from  all  mobs  and  unlawful  as- 
semblies. ' ' 

' '  The  events  of  the  next  few  days  furnished  a  practical  con- 
struction of  the  convention's  declaration  against  mobs  and  un- 
lawful assemblies.  The  last  Tuesday  of  August  was  the  day 
fixed  by  law  for  the  term  of  the  court  of  common  pleas  at  North- 
ampton. Some  1,500  men  took  possession  of  the  court  house, 
and  prevented  the  sitting  of  the  court.  The  term  was  not  held, 
and  the  men  who  did  not  intend  to  pay  their  debts  celebrated  a 
victory  over  the  law. ' ' 

(       89       ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

' '  The  governor  issued  a  proclamation,  calling  the  legislature 
to  meet  in  special  session  on  the  27th  of  September.  The 
proclamation  was  an  incentive  to  still  greater  activity  on  the  part 
of  the  insurgents.  On  the  other  hand,  the  supporters  of  the 
government  felt  the  increased  necessity  of  making  a  stand 
against  insurrection.  The  law  required  the  supreme  judicial 
court  to  sit  at  Springfield  on  the  fourth  Tuesday  of  September, 
The  insurgents,  who  had  not  hitherto  interfered  with  this  court, 
declared  that  the  term  should  not  be  held.  At  that  time  the 
grand  juries  reported  to  the  supreme  court,  and  the  insurgent 
leaders  knew  that  if  the  grand  jury  assembled  and  did  its  duty, 
they  would  be  indicted  for  treason.  The  friends  of  law  and 
order  declared  that  the  court  should  be  protected  in  any  event, 
and  at  whatever  cost." 

"Gen.  AVilliam  Shepard,  of  Westfield,  who  had  served  with 
distinction  through  the  war  of  the  revolution,  and  had  been  a 
member  of  the  continental  congress  and  a  trusted  officer  of  Gen- 
eral Washington,  was  appointed  to  command  such  forces  as  could 
be  raised  for  the  protection  of  the  court.  Shays,^  the  leader  of 
the  insurgents,  had  held  a  commission  in  the  continental  army, 
and  was  conspicuous  for  his  personal  bravery  at  Bunker  Hill 
and  Stony  Point,  and  was  present  at  the  surrender  of  Burgoyne. 
Revolutionary  experiences  were  still  fresh  and  almost  every  man 
in  the  community  was  accustomed,  in  some  degree,  to  the  use  of 
arms  and  military  drill.       It  was  well  understood  that  neither 

'Daniel  Shaj-s  was  born  in  Hopkinton,  Middlesex  county,  in  1747.  He  after- 
ward lived  in  Great  Barrington  and  subsequently  removed  to  I'elham.  He  en- 
tered the  army  in  177."),  and  in  177t)  was  appointed  lieutenant  in  Col.  Varnum"s 
regiment.  He  was  detached  on  recruiting  service  and  came  to  Massachusetts, 
where  he  was  abundantly  successful  :  but  he  was  ambitious  of  rank  and  of  money, 
and  his  easy  success  as  recruiting  officer  suggested  a  plan  for  his  advancement. 
He  enlisted  a  company  whose  engagement  to  serve  was  based  on  the  condition, 
that  he  should  be  the  captain.  He  took  the  men  to  West  Point  and  when  they 
were  about  to  be  apportioned  to  the  commands  where  they  were  most  needed,  the 
conditions  of  the  enlistment  were  made  known.  The  officers  remonstrated,  but 
the  army  needed  the  men,  hence  the  unsoldierly  demands  were  complied  with. 
He  was  promised  a  captain's  commission,  and  received  it  in  1771*.  In  1780  he 
was  discharged  from  service.  "He  was  bound  to  the  insurrectionary  movement 
by  no  tie  of  principle,  no  active  conviction  of  right,  no  controlling  motive  of  love 
for  the  public  good."  After  the  insurrection  was  crushed,  and  he  had  been  par- 
doned. Shays  lived  in  M.-issachusetts  for  a  time  and  then  removed  to  Sparta, 
N.  Y.,  where  he  died  in  1825. 

(       90       ) 


THE  SHAYS  REBELLION 

party  -would  give  way  to  the  other,  and  there  was  hardly  ground 
for  hope  that  a  bloody  collision  would  be  averted." 

"General  Shepard  succeeded  in  collecting  about  600  militia 
and  volunteers,  and  anticipated  the  plans  of  the  insurgents  by 
taking  possession  of  the  court  house.  On  the  appointed  day  the 
court  was  opened,  Chief  Justice  Gushing  and  Justices  Sargeant, 
Sewall  and  Sumner  being  present,  and  Shays  appeared  at  the 
head  of  a  force  largely  superior  in  numbers  to  General  Shep- 
ard's,  but  his  men  were  not  as  well  armed  as  were  the  militia. 
The  insurgents  were  disconcerted  at  finding  the  militia  in  pos- 
session of  the  court  house,  and  some  of  them  insisted  on  making 
an  immediate  attack.  The  leaders  were  more  prudent.  They 
knew  that  the  government  troops  were  well  armed,  and  they  were 
especially  disgusted  with  the  bark  of  a  small  cannon,  which  they 
called  the  'government's  puppy.'  They  offered  to  withdraw  if 
the  judges  would  agree  that  no  other  than  the  ordinary  criminal 
business  of  the  term  should  be  taken  up.  The  judges  replied 
in  substance  that  they  had  a  public  duty  to  discharge  and  would 
attend  to  such  business  as  should  properly  come  before  them. 
But  by  the  time  this  answer  was  received  the  insurgent  leaders 
were  indifferent  as  to  the  action  of  the  court,  for  they  were  satis- 
fied that  the  grand  jury  could  not  be  got  together  and  that  there 
would  be  no  trials.  They  saw  that  their  main  purpose  would 
be  accomplished  without  fighting." 

"Shays  had  his  headquarters  on  or  near  Ferry  lane  (Cy- 
press street)  and  a  tavern  that  stood  on  the  southeasterly  cor- 
ner of  the  present  Main  and  Sargent  streets  was  a  favorite  ren- 
dezvous of  the  insurgents." 

"The  inhabitants  of  Springfield  were  beginning  to  feel  some 
relief  from  their  anxiety,  when  a  new  commotion  was  seen  in  the 
camp  of  the  insurgents.  It  was  rumored  among  them  that  the 
militia  had  determined  that  they  should  not  be  permitted  to 
march  past  the  court  house.  .  .  .  But  the  rumor,  however 
it  originated,  aroused  the  fighting  qualities  of  the  insurgents. 
They  notified  General  Shepard  that  they  would  march  past  the 
court  house  fortliAvith ;  and  they  did  so  in  military  order  and 
with  loaded  muskets.     .     .     .     The  militia  could  not  be  tempted 

(       91       ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

to  accept  a  mere  challenge  or  invite  a  battle.  But  some  of  the 
militia  were  so  impressed  with  the  numbers  and  bearing  of  the 
insurgents  that  they  deserted  their  colors  and  enlisted  under 
Shays." 

"The  rebels  had  accomplished  all  they  intended,  and  more; 
but  success  had  crazed  them.  The  rank  and  file  were  clamorous 
for  a  fight,  and  Shays  sent  a  message  to  General  Shepard  de- 
manding a  surrender  of  the  court  house.  General  Shepard  did 
not  deem  the  possession  of  the  court  house  worth  fighting  for,  the 
court  having  adjourned,  and  moved  his  forces  to  the  federal 
arsenal,  where  there  was  valuable  property  that  required  protec- 
tion." 

"Toward  the  close  of  the  session  (legislative)  acts  were 
passed  authorizing  the  governor  and  council  to  imprison  without 
bail  such  persons  as  they  deemed  dangerous  to  the  public  safety, 
and  providing  that  persons  indicted  for  treason  might  be  tried 
in  any  county.  But  these  measures  were  qualified  by  an  offer 
of  free  pardon  to  such  of  the  insurgents  as  should  take  the  oath 
of  allegiance  before  the  first  of  January.  An  address  to  the 
people  was  voted,  as  had  been  suggested  by  the  Springfield  town 
meeting,  but  they  did  not  provide  money  to  meet  the  expenses 
of  dealing  successfully  with  the  insurrection." 

"The  failure  of  the  legislature  to  adopt  energetic  measures 
gave  new"  courage  to  the  insurgents.  .  .  .  The  war  upon  the 
courts  was  persistently  maintained.  In  December  Shays  made 
another  raid  upon  Springfield,  and  forcibly  prevented  the  ses- 
sion of  the  court  of  common  pleas.  A  letter  from  Springfield  to 
the  Boston  Chronicle,  under  date  of  December  27,  gives  this  ac- 
count of  the  proceeding: 

"  'There  is  a  stagnation  of  almost  every  kind  of  business 
among  us  by  reason  of  the  tumults  which  are  so  prevalent  here. 
Yesterday  we  had  another  visit  from  the  mobility;  about  350 
men  marched  in  hostile  array,  with  drums  beating,  and  took  pos- 
session of  the  court  house,  commanded  by  Shays,  Day  and 
Grover,  in  order  to  prevent  the  sitting  of  the  court  of  common 
pleas,  which  by  law  was  to  have  been  held  here  at  that  time.  This 
they  effected,  as  there  was  no  opposition  on  the  part  of  the  gov- 

(       93       ) 


THE  SHAYS  REBELLION 

erniiieut.  It  was  not  possible  for  the  court  (as  they  were  sur- 
rounded by  an  armed  force  and  a  guard  placed  at  the  door  of 
the  room  in  which  the  judges  were  met)  to  proceed  to  do  business. 
They  therefore  informed  a  committee  who  were  chosen  by  the 
insurgents  to  wait  on  them  that  they  would  not  attempt  to  open 
the  court.  After  which,  about  dark  the  insurgents  left  the 
town.'" 

"Information  of  this  last  exploit  of  Shays  was  not  received 
by  the  governor  until  the  first  of  January.  The  news  was  re- 
ceived at  Boston  with  surprise  and  alarm.  Springfield  had  been 
regarded  as  the  government  stronghold  in  the  western  part  of  the 
state,  and  an  uncontested  insurgent  success  had  not  been  ex- 
pected at  that  point.  At  the  same  time  an  attack  upon  Boston 
was  threatened,  and  there  were  indications  that  a  part  of  the 
population  of  that  town  were  ready  for  revolt.  Disturbances, 
too,  were  occurring  in  other  states.  In  New  Hampshire  an  armed 
mob  surrounded  the  legislature,  demanding  the  enactment  of  a 
paper  money  law.  There  were  well  grounded  apprehensions 
that  general  anarchy  Avould  be  the  barren  sequence  of  all  the 
magnificent  achievements  of  the  continental  armies." 

"The  governor  and  members  of  the  executive  council  were 
capable  and  resolute  men,  but  they  were  powerless.  They  did 
not  have  at  their  command  the  means  of  sustaining  even  a  single 
regiment  in  the  field.  The  emergency  was  finally  met  by  some 
of  the  capitalists  and  business  men  of  Boston,  who  realized  the 
danger  to  which  their  interests  would  be  exposed  by  a  revolution, 
and  came  forw^ard  with  an  offer  of  a  loan  to  the  state,  trusting 
to  future  legislation  for  their  reimbursement.  Their  offer  was 
accepted  and  there  was  at  once  a  change  in  the  condition  of  af- 
fairs. Orders  were  issued  for  the  raising  and  equipment  of 
4,500  men.  .  .  .  Shays  and  his  council  had  been  in  delibera- 
tion over  two  distinct  plans  of  operation.  The  more  reckless 
of  the  leaders  advised  an  attack  upon  Boston  for  the  purpose  of 
releasing  two  of  their  number  who  had  been  arrested  and  were 
held  in  jail.  Others  advised  that  the  attack  on  Boston  be  de- 
layed until  after  the  seizure  of  the  continental  arsenal  at  Spring- 
field, with  its  store  of  war  material,  and  this  plan  was  the  one 
adopted. ' ' 

(       93       ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

"The  Hampshire  county  quota  of  1,200  men  were  ordered 
to  assemble  at  Springfield,  and  General  Shepard  was  placed  in 
command.  The  eastern  militia  were  sent  to  Roxbury,  whence 
they  were  to  march  to  Worcester  and  there  joined  with  the  force 
raised  in  Worcester  county.  The  chief  command  was  given  to 
Gen.  Benjamin  Lincoln,  an  accomplished  officer  of  the  revolu- 
tionary war.  Governor  Bowdoin's  orders  to  General  Lincoln 
required  him  to  protect  the  court  of  common  pleas  at  the  Janu- 
ary term  at  Worcester,  and  left  his  further  movements  against 
the  insurgents  to  his  own  discretion. ' ' 

"General  Shepard  again  anticipated  the  movements  of 
Shays.  Acting  under  the  authority  of  the  secretary  of  war,  he 
took  possession  of  the  arsenal.  General  Lincoln  reached  Wor- 
cester on  the  22d  of  January,  after  a  three  days'  march  from 
Eoxbury  through  the  deep  snow  of  midwinter.  The  court  was 
opened  and  proceeded  with  the  business  of  the  term.  Order  was 
restored  at  Worcester,  and,  substantially,  at  all  points  in  the 
state  east  of  that  place.  The  insurgents  were  concentrating 
their  strength  in  the  western  counties,  and  it  was  understood  on 
all  hands  that  the  issue  was  to  be  tried  and  determined  at  Spring- 
field." 

"The  positions  of  the  several  armed  forces  on  the  evening 
of  January  24  were  as  follows :  General  Shepard  Avas  posted 
at  the  arsenal  with  about  1,000  men.  Shays  had  just  reached 
Wilbraham  on  his  march  from  Rutland.  A  part  of  Lincoln's 
command  was  less  than  two  days'  march  in  the  rear  of  Shays. 
Luke  Day,  an  insurgent  leader,  was  at  West  Springfield  with 
about  400  men  and  boys,  well  armed  and  well  drilled.  There 
was  a  good  ice  bridge  at  the  time,  so  that  he  was  within  easy 
reach  of  the  arsenal.  Eli  Parsons,  a  Berkshire  leader,  was  in 
the  north  parish  of  Springfield  (now  Chicopee)  with  about  400 
men.  The  total  insurgent  force  was  about  double  that  of  Gen- 
eral Shepard." 

"The  inhabitants  of  Springfield,  except  such  as  were  within 
the  immediate  protection  of  General  Shepard,  were  kept  in  con- 
stant alarm.  Respectable  citizens  were  seized  in  their  own 
houses  and  taken  to  Day's  camp  in  West  Springfield,  where  they 

(       94       ) 


THE  SHAYS  REBELLION 

were  kept  under  guard  as  hostages  and  for  purposes  of  retalia- 
tion. ]\Ien  were  not  sure  whether  their  near  neighbors  were 
friends  or  foes,  and  unprotected  homes  were  exposed  to  outrage 
and  plunder.  Upon  the  receipt  of  the  news  that  Shays  had 
reached  Wilbraham,  most  of  the  women  and  children  who  had 
mieans  of  conveyance  fled  from  that  town." 

' '  On  his  arrival  at  Wilbraham,  Shays  sent  a  message  to  Day, 
informing  him  that  he  intended  to  attack  the  arsenal  on  the  25th. 
Day  replied  by  letter  that  he  could  not  move  on  that  day  but 
would  join  in  the  attack  on  the  26th.  Day's  messenger  was  ar- 
rested and  his  letter,  instead  of  going  to  Shays,  went  to  General 
Shepard.  On  the  25th  Shays  moved  upon  Springfield,  expect- 
ing the  co-operation  of  Day  and  Parsons.  Even  if  he  had  re- 
ceived Day's  letter  he  could  not  have  delayed  his  attack.  His 
only  chance  of  success  was  in  seizing  the  arsenal  before  General 
Lincoln  could  come  up." 

"At  that  time  none  of  the  buildings  now  standing  on  the 
arsenal  grounds  had  been  erected.  There  were  two  wooden 
buildings,  built  for  barracks  and  for  storage  on  the  brow  of  the 
hill  looking  to  the  north,  on  or  near  the  site  of  the  present  store- 
house. There  was  a  private  dwelling  house  on  the  site  of  the 
present  middle  arsenal,  and  it  was  to  this  house  that  the  dead 
and  wounded  insurgents  were  carried.  East  of  that  point  there 
were  no  buildings  except  the  powder  magazine,  that  stood  in  a 
then  remote  spot  in  the  woods.  Magazine  street  has  since  been 
located  over  its  site.  The  present  armory  square  was  the  pub- 
lic training  field.  There  Avere  not  then  any  gun  shops  on  the 
arsenal  grounds.  If  there  was  one  in  the  town  at  tlie  time,  it 
Avas  in  Ferry  lane,  where  the  government  gun  work  was  origin- 
.ally  done  in  Springfield. ' ' 

"When  Shays  left  Wilbraham  on  the  morning  of  the  25th, 
Asaph  King,  a  deputy  sherifi:',  started  on  horseback  to  give  in- 
formation to  General  Shepard.  He  was  obliged  to  avoid  the 
highways,  and  made  his  way  across  the  fields,  through  snow 
drifts  and  over  fences,  and  is  said  to  have  accomplished  the  dis- 
tance in  forty-five  minutes.  This  was  the  first  exact  informa- 
tion received  by  General  Shepard  of  the  approach  of  Shays :  and 

(       95       ) 


OVE  COrSTY  AXD  ITS  PEOPLE 

he  proceeded  to  make  ready  for  his  fitting  reception.  His  men 
were  stationed  near  the  barracks,  and  his  cannon  were  planted 
on  the  brow  of  the  hill  commanding  the  approach  by  the  Bos- 
ton road.  A  part  of  his  force  was  posted  in  Main  street,  at  the 
point  now  crossed  by  the  Boston  and  Albany  railroad,  for  the- 
pnrpose  of  holding  Day  in  check  in  case  he  should  attempt  to 
come  to  the  aid  of  Shays.  A  considerable  mob  collected  at  that 
point,  but  did  not  attempt  an  attack  upon  the  militia." 

"It  was  toward  the  close  of  the  short  winter  day  that  the 
insurgents  were  seen  from  the  arsenal  making  their  toilsome 
march  through  the  snow  on  the  Boston  road.  They  were  in  the 
best  of  spirits ;  every  attempt  they  had  hitherto  made  had  suc- 
ceeded, but  it  was  not  an  unprotected  court  house  they  were  now 
intending  to  occupy.  Shays  was  entirely  confident.  Some  of 
his  old  army  comrades  Avent  out  to  meet  him,  and  advised  him  to- 
keep  out  of  the  range  of  General  Shepard's  guns,  and  to  aban- 
don his  treason.  He  received  them  pleasantly,  told  them  he 
was  sure  of  success,  and  Avas  inclined  to  be  jocose.  He  did  not 
know  his  own  men. ' ' 

' '  There  Avas  not  any  battle.  The  only  firing  Avas  on  the  gov- 
ernment side,  and  there  Avas  but  little  of  that.  Only  one  shot 
seems  to  have  been  fired  in  genuine  earnest,  and  that  AA-as  folloAA'ed 
by  a  panic  among  the  insurgents,  and  a  flight.  The  official  re- 
port of  the  firm  but  kind-hearted  General  Shepard  to  the  gov- 
ernor, gives  us  reliable  history.     It  is  as  folloAA's : 

"  'Springfield,  January  26,  1787. 

"  'Sir:  —  The  unhappy  time  has  come  in  AA-hich  aa'C  have  been 
obliged  to  shed  blood.  Shays,  Avho  Avas  at  the  head  of  about 
1,200  men,  marched  yesterday  afternoon  about  four  o'clock 
tOAA-ards  the  public  buildings,  in  battle  array.  He  marched  his 
men  in  an  open  column  by  platoons.  I  sent  several  times,  by 
one  of  my  aids  and  tAA^o  other  gentlemen,  Capts.  Buffington  and 
AVoodbridge,  to  him  to  knoAv  Avhat  he  Avas  after,  or  what  he 
AA-anted.  His  reply  Avas,  he  AA-anted  barracks,  barracks  he  Avould 
have,  and  stores.  The  ansAA'er  Avas  he  must  purchase  them  dear, 
if  he  had  them.  He  still  proceeded  on  his  march  until  he  ap- 
proached within  250  yards  of  the  arsenal.      He  then  made  a  halt. 

(       96       ) 


THE  SHAYS  REBELLION 

I  immediately  sent  Major  Lyman,  one  of  my  aids,  and  Capt.  Buf- 
fington,  to  inform  him  not  to  move  his  troops  any  nearer  the 
arsenal  on  his  peril,  as  I  -was  stationed  here  by  order  of  your  ex- 
cellency and  the  secretary  of  war,  for  the  defense  of  the  publick 
property ;  in  case  he  did,  I  should  surely  fire  on  him  and  his  men. 
A  Mr.  Wheeler,  who  appeared  to  be  one  of  Shays'  aids,  met  Mr. 
Lyman,  after  he  had  delivered  my  orders,  in  the  most  peremptory 
manner,  and  made  answer,  that  that  was  all  he  wanted.  Shays 
immediately  put  his  troops  in  motion  and  marched  rapidly  near 
one  hundred  yards.  I  then  order  ^lajor  Stephens,  who  com- 
manded the  artillery,  to  fire  upon  them;  he  accordingly  did. 
The  first  two  shot  he  endeavored  to  over-shoot  them,  in  the  hope 
that  they  would  have  taken  warning,  without  firing  among  them, 
but  it  had  no  effect  on  them.  Maj.  Stephens  then  directed  his  shot 
through  the  center  of  his  column.  The  fourth  or  fifth  shot  put 
the  whole  column  in  the  utmost  confusion.  Shays  made  an 
attempt  to  display  his  column,  but  in  vain.  We  had  one  howit, 
AA'hieh  was  loaded  with  grape-shot,  which,  when  fired,  gave  them 
great  uneasiness.  Had  I  been  disposed  to  destroy  them,  I  might 
have  charged  upon  their  rear  and  flanks  with  my  infantry  and 
the  two  field  pieces,  and  could  have  killed  the  greater  part  of  his 
whole  army  within  twenty-five  minutes.  There  was  not  a  single 
musket  fired  on  either  side. ' ' 

' '  I  found  three  men  dead  on  the  spot,  and  one  wounded,  who 
is  since  dead.  One  of  our  artillerymen,  by  inattention,  was 
badly  wounded.  Three  muskets  were  taken  up  with  the  dead, 
which  were  deeply  loaded.  I  enclose  to  your  excellency  a  copy 
of  the  paper^  sent  to  me  last  evening.     I  have  received  no  rein- 

^The  paper  referred  to  in  General  Shepard's  report  is  as  follows  : 

"Headquarters,  West  Springfield, 
"January  25,  1787. 
"The  body  of  the  people  assembled  in  arms,  adhering  to  the  tlrst  principles 
in  nature,  self-preservation,  do.  in  the  most  peremptory  manner,  demand, 
"1.     That  the  troops  in  Springfield  lay  down  their  arms. 

"2.  That  their  arms  be  deposited  in  the  public  stores,  under  the  care  of 
the  proper  officers,  to  be  returned  to  the  owners  at  the  termination  of  the  pres- 
ent contest. 

"3.     That  the  troops  return  to  their  homes  on  parole. 

"To  the  commanding  officer  at  Springfield,  January  25,  1787, 

"Luke  Day, 
"Captain  Commandant  of  this  division." 
(On  the  back)  "By  Col.  Eli  Parsons." 

7-1  (        97        ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

forcements  yet,  and  expect  to  be  attacked  this  day  by  their  whole 
force  combined.     I  am,  sir,  with  great  respect. 

"  'Your  Excellencies  most  obedient  humble  servant, 

"  'William  Shepard.' 
"  'His  Excellency,  James  Bowdoin,  Esq.' 

"The  lives  so  foolishly  thrown  away  before  the  arsenal  were 
those  of  Ezekiel  Root,  and  Ariel  Webster,  of  Gill,  Jabez  Spicer, 
of  Leyden,  and  John  Hunter,  of  Shelburne.  In  the  evening 
Shays  sent  a  flag  of  truce,  requesting  that  the  bodies  of  five  of 
his  men  killed  before  the  arsenal  be  returned  to  him.  General 
Shepard's  rather  grim  reply  was,  that  he  covild  not  furnish  him 
at  that  time  with  five  insurgents,  as  he  had  but  four,  and  one  of 
them  was  not  quite  dead,  but  that  if  Shays  would  attack  the 
arsenal  again  he  would  furnish  him  as  many  dead  rebels  as  he 
should  desire." 

"Shays  retreated  on  the  night  of  the  25th  to  'Chapin's  tav- 
ern,' five  miles  east  of  the  town.  The  next  day  he  joined  Par- 
sons' force  at  Chicopee,  200  of  his  men  deserting  by  the  way.  A 
bold  dash  on  the  morning  of  the  27th  might  possibly  have  helped 
him ;  but  he  had  lost  the  only  opportunity  there  was  remaining 
to  him.  At  noon  on  that  day  a  part  of  General  Lincoln's  army, 
consisting  of  three  regiments  of  infantry,  three  companies  of  ar- 
tillery and  a  body  of  cavalry,  reached  Springfield.  After  a  rest 
of  one  hour,  the  Lincoln  infantry  and  artillery  crossed  the  river 
for  the  purpose  of  seizing  Day  and  his  party.  At  the  same  time 
General  Shepard  moved  up  the  river  on  the  east  bank,  and  the 
cavalry  went  up  the  river  on  the  ice  to  prevent  a  junction  of 
Day  and  Shays.  There  was  no  inclination  to  fight  among  the 
insurgents,  who  retired  as  the  militia  advanced,  their  number 
lessening  by  desertions  as  they  went.  The  pursuit  was  vigor- 
ously maintained  until  the  insurgent  leaders  were  captured  or 
driven  from  the  state,  but  several  months  elapsed  before  quiet 
was  entirely  restored." 

"Shays  and  Parsons  abandoned  Chicopee  on  the  approach 
of  General  Shepard's  army  and  fled  north  through  South  Had- 
ley  (where  his  men  plundered  several  houses,  taking  from  one 
resident  two  ])arrels  of  rum)  and  Amherst,  and  thence  the  leader 

(       98       ) 


THE  SHAYS  REBELLION 

made  his  way  to  his  own  house  in  Pelham,  leaving  many  of  his 
former  followers  to  work  out  their  own  salvation  as  best  they 
could.  His  army,  however,  had  now  d^\'indled  to  about  200 
men.  At  Pelham  he  attempted  to  reorganize  his  force,  but  soon 
afterward  he  changed  base  and  appeared  in  Petersham,  in 
Worcester  county.  Here  he  was  surprised  by  Lincoln  and 
barely  escaped  capture.  He  fled  to  New  Hampshire,  and  his 
followers  scattered  in  that  state,  also  in  Vermont  and  New 
York." 

Captain  Luke  Day^,  "commandant"  of  the  West  Spring- 
field division  of  the  insurgent  army,  had  posted  a  guard  in  the 
ferry  house  in  that  town,  and  upon  the  approach  of  Lincoln's 
men  they  fled,  after  having  made  a  little  show  of  resistance.  The 
infantry  then  marched  up  "Shad  lane,"  through  the  settled 
part  of  the  town,  but  the  cohorts  of  Day  then  were  in  swift  re- 
treat up  the  river  toward  Southampton,  many  of  them  in  their 
fiight  throwing  away  guns  and  blankets  and  whatever  might  im- 
pede their  progress.  They  did  not  stop  until  they  reached 
Northampton,  and  there  only  over  night.  Their  greatest  anxiety 
was  to  get  beyond  the  bounds  of  the  state  without  falling  into  the 
liands  of  the  militia. 

^Luke  Day  was  born  in  West  Springfield,  July  25,  1743,  and  was  the  son  of 
worthy  and  well-to-do  parents.  He  entered  the  revolutionary  service  early  and 
-was  a  lieutenant  in  Captain  Chapin"s  company  of  minute  men  who  marched  to 
Boston  upon  the  Lexington  alarm.  But  Day  was  a  demagogue  and  was  much 
given  to  speech  maliing  and  bluster ;  his  tongue  was  his  most  formidable 
weapon.  He  talked  wildly  of  "spilling  the  last  drop  of  blood  that  ran  in  his 
veins,"  but  upon  the  approach  of  Lincoln's  men  upon  his  quarters  in  West 
Springfield,  he  neither  attempted  nor  encouraged  resistance.  After  his  defeat 
Day  fled  to  New  York,  and  on  returning  to  this  state  he  was  arrested  and  held 
in  jail  in  Boston.  On  his  own  application  his  case  was  transferred  to  Hamp- 
shire county  for  trial,  but  under  the  general  amnesty  extended  to  insurgents  he 
was  pardoned.  He  then  returned  to  West  Springfield  and  died  in  the  town  in 
1801. 


(       99       ) 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE    WAR    OF    1812-1815 

During  the  five  years  immediately  preceding  the  war  of 
1812-15  the  whole  country  was  in  a  state  of  nominal  peace,  but 
still  there  was  gathering  in  the  political  horizon  a  dark  cloud 
which  increased  until  it  boded  another  foreign  war.  In  the 
revolutionary  struggle  America  contended  for  independence  and 
won  that  precious  boon ;  in  1812-15  she  fought  to  maintain  that 
independence  on  which  British  aggression  had  insolently  tres- 
passed. 

The  United  States  had  honorably  observed  the  provisions  of 
the  treaty  made  with  Great  Britain  at  the  close  of  the  revolution. 
There  had  been  maintained,  too,  a  strict  neutrality  during  the 
progress  of  the  Napoleonic  wars  when  every  consideration  of 
gratitude  should  have  induced  an  alliance  against  the  mother 
country.  For  several  years  the  aggressive  acts  of  the  British 
had  been  a  subject  of  anxiety  and  regret  to  all  Americans  and 
had  created  bitter  indignation  throughout  the  country.  The 
embargo  laid  by  congress  in  1807  upon  our  shipping  (as  a  meas- 
ure of  safety)  was  found  so  injurious  to  commercial  interests 
that  it  was  repealed,  and  the  non-intercourse  act  was  passed  in 
its  stead. 

In  April,  1809,  the  British  minister  in  Washington  opened 
negotiations  for  the  adjustment  of  existing  difficulties,  and  con- 
sented to  a  withdrawal  of  the  obnoxious  ** orders  in  council,"  so 
far  as  they  affected  the  United  States,  on  condition  that  the  non- 
intercourse  act  be  repealed.  This  was  agreed  to,  and  the  presi- 
dent issued  a  proclamation  announcing  that  on  the  10th  of  June 
trade  with  Great  Britain  might  be  resumed.     The  British  gov- 

(      100      ) 


THE  WAR  OF  1812-15 

ernment,  however,  refused  to  ratify  the  proceedings  and  re- 
called her  minister,  upon  which  the  non-intercourse  act  again 
went  into  operation. 

The  most  odious  and  oppressive  of  all  British  aggressions 
was  the  claim  made  of  "right  to  search,"  in  pursuance  of  which 
British  cruisers  stopped  American  vessels  on  the  ocean  and  seized 
such  of  their  crews  as  were  suspected  to  be  subjects  of  the  king, 
forcing  them  into  their  own  service.  This  claim  led  to  outrages 
to  which  no  true  American  could  submit,  and  the  only  choice  left 
to  the  nation  was  war  or  disgraceful  humiliation. 

On  June  12,  1812,  President  Madison  sent  a  confidential 
message  to  congress,  in  which  he  recapitulated  the  long  list  of 
British  aggressions  and  declared  it  the  duty  of  congress  to  con- 
sider whether  the  American  people  should  longer  passively  sub- 
mit to  open  insult ;  but  at  the  same  time  he  cautioned  the  house 
to  avoid  entanglements  vcith  other  powers  that  then  w^ere  hostile 
to  Great  Britain. 

The  result  of  the  message  and  the  deliberation  of  congress 
was  a  formal  declaration  of  war  on  the  19th  of  June,  1812,  but 
the  measure  was  not  unanimously  sustained  or  even  approved  in 
all  parts  of  the  Middle  and  New  England  states.  The  oppo- 
nents held  that  the  country  was  not  prepared  for  war  and  asked 
for  further  negotiations.  They  also  met  the  denunciations  of 
the  ruling  party  (the  American  or  democratic  party — for  it  went 
by  both  names,  and  included  many  republicans)  against  the  Brit- 
ish with  bitter  attacks  upon  Napoleon,  whom  they  accused  the 
majority  with  favoring.  The  war  party  (variously  denomi- 
nated by  the  opposition  as  "Screaming  War  Hawks"  and  "Blue 
Lights")  was  led  by  Henry  Clay,  and  the  opponents  (Federal- 
ists, otherwise  called  the  "Peace  party")  by  John  Randolph, 
both  men  of  distinguished  ability,  and  the  giants  of  congress  at 
that  time. 

"In  Massachusetts,"  says  ]\Ir.  Holland's  history,  "the  war 
became  the  theme  of  pulpit  denunciation,  the  subject  of  consider- 
ation and  condemnation  in  town  meetings,  and  the  target  full  of 
quivers  of  resolutions  from  the  taut-strung  bows  of  conventions. 
Berkshire  was  somewhat  more  democratic  than  the  river  region, 

(      101      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

but  the  latter  was  very  thoroughly  federal,  and  hated  the  war 
with  entire  heartiness.  .  .  .  Immediately  after  the  declara- 
tion of  war  nearly  all  the  towns  in  AVestern  Massachusetts  pos- 
sessing federal  majorities,  passed  resolutions  condemning  it  and, 
by  concert  of  action,  the  towns  of  the  three  river  counties  in  legal 
town  meetings,  appointed  delegates  to  a  grand  convention  to  be 
holden  at  Northampton  on  the  14th  of  July,  1812,  to  consult 
upon  the  war.  Accordingly  on  that  day  delegates  from  fifty- 
seven  towns  in  the  three  counties  assembled  at  the  Northampton 
court  house.  In  fifty-three  of  these  towns  the  delegates  were 
regularly  appointed,  and  appeared  with  certificates  of  their  re- 
spective town  clerks,  while  the  remaining  four  sent  represent- 
atives of  federal  minorities." 

The  delegates,  so  far  as  they  represented  towns  forming  a 
part  of  Hampden  county,  were  as  follows :  John  Hooker, 
Chauncey  Brewer,  Justin  Lombard,  Joseph  Pease,  Springfield ; 
Jedediah  Smith,  Alanson  Knox,  Blandford;  Amos  Hamilton, 
Alpheus  Converse,  Palmer ;  David  Curtis,  Granville ;  Deodatus 
Dutton,  Monson ;  Darius  Munger,  South  Brimfield ;  Kobert  Ses- 
sions, Aaron  Woodward,  Wilbraham ;  EdAvard  Taylor,  Montgom- 
ery^; John  Polley,  Holland;  Eleazer  Slocum,  Tolland.  Pelatiah 
Bliss  and  Timothy  Burbank  were  irregular  delegates  from  West 
Springfield,  in  sympathy  with  the  convention,  but  represent- 
atives of  a  town  whose  majority  favored  the  prosecution  of  the 
war. 

"In  all,"  says  Holland,  "there  were  eighty-eight  delegates, 
composed  of  the  best  and  most  influential  citizens  in  the  three 
counties,  many  of  Avhom  were  in  high  civil  and  military  office. 
The  convention  organized  by  the  choice  of  John  Hooker  of 
Springfield  for  president,  and  Isaac  C.  Bates  of  Northampton 
for  secretary.  The  proceedings  were  opened  Avith  prayer  by 
Rev.  Mr.  AYilliams  of  Northampton.  An  address  to  the  people, 
previously  issued  by  the  anti-Avar  minority  in  congress,  Avas  then 
read,  Avhen  Elijah  H.  Mills,  Ephraim  Williams,  LcAvis  Strong, 
Samuel  Hills,  Joseph  Lyman,  Ezra  Starkweather,  John  Hooker, 
Samuel  C.  Allen  and  Samuel  F.  Dickinson  AA'ere  appointed  a 
committee  to  report  in  regard  to  the  proper  action  of  the  con- 

(      102      ) 


THE  ^^AR  OF  1812-15 

ventiou  coucerning  public  affairs,  after  which  the  convention 
adjourned  until  the  15th.  On  that  day  the  committee  reported 
that  it  was  expedient  to  present  a  respectful  memorial  to  the 
president  of  the  United  States,  praying  that  commissioners 
might  be  forthwith  appointed  to  negotiate  a  peace  with  Great 
Britain,  ''upon  safe  and  honorable  terms,"  and  a  memorial  to 
that  effect  was  therewith  submitted,  with  a  series  of  resolutions 
for  the  consideration  of  the  convention.  The  committee  also  re- 
ported that  it  was  expedient  to  appoint  four  delegates  from  each 
county,  to  meet  in  state  convention,  provided  the  measure  should 
be  adopted  in  other  parts  of  the  commonwealth,  and  also,  that 
committees  of  safety  and  correspondence  be  appointed  in  each 
county,  and  that  it  be  recommended  to  each  town  to  choose  simi- 
lar committees  in  its  corporate  capacity.  The  entire  report, 
with  a  few  amendments  of  the  memorial,  was  adopted,  and  the 
committees  recommended  were  appointed.  The  following  were 
chosen  delegates  to  the  state  convention : 

//a »(pf/e>(,— William  Shepard,  George  Bliss,  Samuel  Lath- 
rop  and  Amos  Hamilton. 

Hampsliire,— Joseph  Lyman,  Eli  P.  Ashmun,  William  Bod- 
man  and  Samuel  F.  Dickinson. 

Fra)iJilin,—~Ephraim  AVilliams,  Richard  E.  Newcomb,  Rufus 
Graves  and  Roger  Leavitt. 

The  committees  of  safety  and  correspondence  were,  for 
Hampden,  Jacob  Bliss,  John  Hooker,  Oliver  B.  Morris  and  Jona- 
than DAvight,  Jr. ;  for  Hampshire,  Jonathan  H.  Lyman,  Lewis 
Strong,  Isaac  C.  Bates  and  William  Edwards ;  and  for  Franklin, 
Jonathan  Leavitt,  Samuel  Wells,  Elijah  Alvord,  2d,  and  George 
Grennell,  Jr. 

"At  the  time  of  holding  this  convention  Caleb  Strong  of 
Northampton  was  governor  of  Massachusetts.  That  the  memo- 
rial and  resolutions  adopted  represented  his  views  is  to  be  pre- 
sumed—a presumption  receiving  additional  force  from  the  fact 
that  his  son,  Lewis  Strong,  w'as  a  member  of  the  committee  that 
reported  them,  and  had  the  credit  of  being  the  able  author  of  the 
memorial." 

The  memorial  agreed  upon  and  adopted  by  the  convention 

(      103      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

was  a  long,  solemn  and  formidable  document,  and  ably  reviewed 
the  political  situation  in  the  country,  and  especially  in  New  Eng- 
land, at  the  time,  from  a  purely  federalist  standpoint.  Accord- 
ing to  its  declarations  the  convention  represented  a  constituency 
of  80,000  persons,  and  while  not  so  stated  in  the  proceedings,  the 
very  center  of  that  constituency  was  in  the  Connecticut  valley 
and  the  region  adjoining  it  on  the  east.  The  resolutions  adopted 
were  even  more  radical  than  the  memorial,  and  declared  the  war 
to  be  "neither  just,  necessary  nor  expedient." 

In  February,  1812,  four  months  before  the  formal  declara- 
tion of  war,  congress  passed  an  act  providing  for  the  organiza- 
tion of  25,000  men  for  an  army,  and  in  April  following  100,000 
of  the  nation's  enrolled  militia  was  called  upon  for  active  serv- 
ice. These  calls  for  troops  aroused  the  federalist  ire  and  pro- 
voked the  unusual  expressions  of  the  Northampton  convention  in 
the  final  resolution  adopted  by  that  body,  viz. : 

"That,  although  we  do  not  consider  ourselves  bound,  volun- 
tarily, to  aid  in  the  prosecution  of  an  offensive  war,  which  we  be- 
lieve to  be  neither  just,  necessary  nor  expedient,  we  will  submit, 
like  good  citizens,  to  the  requisitions  of  the  constitution,  and 
promptly  repel  all  hostile  attacks  upon  our  country.  That,  col- 
lecting fortitude  from  the  perils  of  the  crisis,  and  appealing  to 
the  searcher  of  hearts  for  the  purity  of  our  motives,  w^e  will  exert 
ourselves,  by  all  constitutional  means,  to  avert  the  dangers  which 
surround  us ;  and  that,  while  we  discountenance  all  forcible  oppo- 
sition to  the  laws,  we  will  expose  ourselves  to  every  hazard  and 
every  sacrifice  to  prevent  a  ruinous  alliance  with  the  tyrant  of 
France,  to  restore  a  speedy,  just  and  honorable  peace,  to  pre- 
serve inviolate  the  Union  of  States,  in  the  true  spirit  of  the  con- 
stitution, and  to  perpetuate  the  safety,  honor  and  liberties  of  our 
country. ' ' 

Notwithstanding  the  protestations  of  loyalty  on  the  part  of 
the  memorialists,  at  heart  they  had  little  sympathy  and  no  en- 
couragement whatever  for  the  cause  for  which  the  federal  gov- 
ernment was  contending,  and  in  fact  opposed  all  measures  for 
the  prosecution  of  the  war.  Governor  Strong  declined  to  fur- 
nish the  quota  of  troops  called  for  by  the    government,    which 

(      104      ) 


THE  ^S\A.E  OF  1812-15 

action  raised  a  serious  question  as  to  the  relations^  of  Massachu- 
setts and  the  federal  union. 

None  of  the  Massachusetts  militia  were  called  into  service 
until  September,  1814,  when  the  British,  havin"-  taken  possession 
of  Castine,  on  the  Penobscot  river  and  within  the  INIassachusetts 
jurisdiction,  a  general  invasion  of  the  region  was  greatly  feared. 
Then— and  only  then— the  governor  took  decisive  action  and 
made  a  requisition  for  troops  to  be  assembled  at  Boston.  It  was 
not  the  governor's  purpose,  however,- to  send  his  military  forces 
against  the  British,  but  rather  to  repel  any  invasion  of  the  terri- 
tory of  the  commonwealth,  as  the  United  States  troops  then  had 
been  withdrawn  from  the  coast. 

Two  regiments  of  infantry  were  sent  from  old  Hampshire 
county,  one  from  the  northern  towns  under  Col.  Thomas  Longly, 
of  Hawley,  and  the  other  from  the  southern  towns  under  Col. 
Enos  Foot,  of  Southwick.  The  county  also  furnished  a  regi- 
ment of  artillery,  in  which  was  an  entire  company  from  Spring- 
field under  Capt.  Quartus  Stebbins.  Among  the  oi^cers  of  rank 
from  the  county  was  Brig.-Gen.  Jacob  Bliss  of  Springfield.  The 
troops  left  the  valley  about  the  middle  of  October,  the  Spring- 
field artillery  taking  its  departure  on  a  Sunday  morning,  fresh 
from  the  spiritual  admonitions  of  Rev.  Dr.  Osgood.  On  arrival 
at  Boston  the  men  were  stationed  at  Dorchester,  where  they  en- 
camped about  forty  days  and  then  returned  to  their  homes.  Thus 
ended  what  was  known  at  the  time  in  democratic  circles  as  "Gov. 
Strong's  war." 

In  December,  1814,  the  famous  Hartford  convention  was  as- 
sembled, comprising  twelve  delegates  appointed  by  the  Massa- 
chusetts legislature,  seven  by  the  Connecticut  legislature,  four 

'The  governor's  refusal  involved  grave  questions  "touching  the  power  of  the 
federal  government  to  call  out  the  militia  of  the  states,  to  decide  on  the  exigency 
for  calling  them  into  service,  and  to  place  them  in  command  of  United  States 
officers  after  they  were  called  out.  In  all  these  points  Gov.  Strong  was  op- 
posed to  the  president  and  was  supported  in  his  position  by  the  written  opinion 
of  the  Supreme  court  of  the  state;  and  thus,  the  federal  party,  the  strongest  at 
first  in  the  advocacy  of  the  concentration  of  power  in  the  federal  head,  became 
the  first  to  oppose  what  was  deemed  a  usurpation  of  the  rights  of  the  state.  The 
governor  did  not  believe  that  the  mere  act  of  declaring  war  on  the  part  of  the 
president  of  the  United  States  gave  him  any  right  to  call  the  militia  of  the  sev- 
eral states  into  service." — Holland. 

(      105      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

from  Rhode  Island,  two  from  New  Hampshire  and  one  from  Ver- 
mont. George  Bliss  of  Springfield  and  Joseph  Lyman  of  North- 
ampton were  the  delegates  from  Western  Massachusetts.  The 
proceedings  of  the  convention  need  no  review  in  this  "work,  yet  it 
may  be  said  that  the  principal  recommendations  of  that  distin- 
guished body  were  soon  afterward  embodied  in  a  law  of  con- 
gress.^ 

In  relation  to  the  events  of  the  second  war  with  Great  Brit- 
ain little  need  be  said  in  these  pages.  The  general  results  of  the 
struggle  are  Avritten  in  the  conflicts  of  Lake  Erie,  the  repulse  of 
the  invaders  on  the  Delaware,  the  painful  and  humiliating  scenes 
of  the  Chesapeake,  the  invasion  of  New  York  and  the  attempt  to 
control  the  Hudson  river  and  Lake  Champlain.  The  story  is 
further  told  in  the  brilliant  victory  at  Plattsburg,  the  capture  of 
Niagara  and  Oswego,  the  battles  of  Black  Rock,  Lundy's  Lane, 
Sackett's  Harbor,  closing  with  the  glorious  defense  of  New^  Or- 
leans. Above  all,  however,  Avere  the  masterly  exploits  of  our 
navy,  whose  victory  over  the  British  cruisers  gave  the  enemy  a 
most  serious  view  of  American  prowess.  Peace,  however,  came 
at  last  and  the  treaty  was  ratified  February  15,  1815. 

^"The  recommendations  of  the  convention  were  that  the  states  talje  meas- 
ures to  protect  their  citizens  from  'forcible  draughts,  conscriptions  or  impress- 
ments, not  authorized  by  the  constitution  of  the  United  States,'  and  that  an 
earnest  application  be  made  to  the  general  government,  requesting  its  consent  to 
some  arrangement  whereby  the  states  separately,  or  in  concert,  might  assume 
upon  themselves  the  defense  of  their  territory  against  the  enemy  ;  and  that  a 
reasonable  portion  of  the  taxes  collected  within  the  state  might  be  appropriated 
to  that  object.  The  law  passed  by  congress  three  weeks  afterward,  authorized 
and  required  the  president  to  'receive  into  the  service  of  the  United  States  any 
corps  of  troops  which  may  have  been,  or  may  be,  raised,  organized  and  officered 
under  the  authority  of  any  of  the  states,  to  be  employed  in  the  state  raising  the 
same,  or  an  adjoining  state,  and  not  elseichcrc  except  with  the  consent  of  the 
executive  of  the  state  raising  the  same.' " — Holland. 


(      106      ) 


r  ^^ 


r^^    ^7n///frj,;/^^ 


CHAPTER  X 

COUNTY    ORGANIZATION 

Previous  to  the  creation  of  Hampshire  county  the  region  of 
country  included  within  that  jurisdiction  as  originally  estab- 
lished was  not  a  part  of  any  civil  division  of  the  jNIassachusetts 
Bay,  and  there  appears  not  to  have  been  need  for  the  exercise  of 
civil  authority  in  the  locality.  The  settlers,  few  in  number,  yet 
firmly  united  by  bands  of  kinship,  church  fellowship  and  mutual- 
interest,  required  no  law  to  govern  their  actions,  and  such  petty 
differences  as  did  arise  among  them  were  readily  settled  by  the 
magisterial  officers  appointed  by  the  general  court.  However, 
during  the  first  quarter  of  a  century  of  civilized  white  occupancy 
in  the  region  referred  to  the  number  of  settlers  was  so  increased, 
and  the  plantations  were  so  widely  extended,  that  the  organiza- 
tion of  a  new  county  in  this  part  of  the  colony  became  necessary. 

The  three  original  towns  comprising  Hampshire  county  were 
known  as  Springfield,  Northampton  and  Hadley,  neither  of 
which  at  the  time  of  its  creation,  or  recognition  as  a  town,  was 
measured  by  definite  bounds.  Springfield  in  itself  was  a  vast 
territory,  and  in  the  history  of  Hampshire  and  Hampden  coun- 
ties it  has  been  a  veritable  mother  of  towns. 

According  to  established  records,  Springfield  originally  was 
common  land  called  Agawam,  and  became  a  town  in  the  colony, 
June  2,  1641.  The  district  called  "Woronoco"  (afterward 
Westfield)  was  annexed  in  1647,  and  did  not  become  a  town  until 
1669. 

Northampton,  the  second  division  in  seniority  and  extent  in 
Hampshire  county,  was  common  land  called  "Nonotuck"  pre- 
vious to  its  settlement  by  the  whites  in  1653.      Three  years  later 

(      108      ) 


COUNTY  ORGANIZATION 

it  -was  organized  as  a  town  in  the  colony,  but  previous  to  1662  it 
was  not  a  part  of  any  county  jurisdiction. 

Hadley  was  settled  in  1659,  and  in  May,  1661,  the  plantation 
was  organized  as  a  town. 

In  the  early  part  of  1662  a  committee  was  appointed  by  the 
town  of  Springfield,  "concerning  settling  the  towns  in  this  west- 
ern portion  of  the  colony  into  the  form  of  a  new  county,"  and 
on  May  7,  of  the  same  year,  the  general  court  passed  the  follow- 
ing act: 

"Forasmuch  as  the  inhabitants  of  this  jurisdiction  are  much 
encreased,  so  that  now  they  are  planted  farre  into  the  country 
vpon  Conecticott  Riuer,  who  by  reason  of  their  remotenes  cannot 
conveniently  be  annexed  to  any  of  the  eountyes  already  settled, 
&  that  publicke  affaires  may  with  more  facility  be  transacted 
according  to  lawes  heere  established,  it  is  ordered  by  this  Court 
&  authority  thereof,  that  henceforth  Springfeild,  Northampton, 
and  Hadley  shall  be  &  hereby  are  constituted  as  a  county,  the 
bounds  or  Ijmitts  on  the  south  to  be  the  south  Ijne  of  the  pattent, 
the  extent  of  other  bounds  to  be  full  thirty  miles  distant  from 
any  or  either  of  the  foresajd  tounes,  &  w^hat  tounes  or  villages 
soeuer  shall  hereafter  be  erected  within  the  foresajd  precincts  to 
be  &  belong  to  the  sajd  county ;  and  further,  that  the  sajd  county 
shall  be  called  Hampshire,  &  shall  haue  and  enjoy  the  libertjes 
&  priviledges  of  any  other  county ;  &  that  Springfeild  shall  be 
the  shire  toune  there,  &  the  Courts  to  be  kept  one  time  at  Spring- 
feild &  another  time  at  Northampton;  the  like  order  to  be  ob- 
served for  their  shire  meetings,  that  is  to  say,  one  yeere  at  one 
toune,  &  the  next  yeare  at  the  other,  from  time  to  tjme.  And  it 
is  further  ordered,  that  all  the  inhabitants  of  that  shire  shall  pay 
their  publicke  rates  to  the  countrey  in  fatt  catle,  or  young  catle, 
such  as  are  fit  to  be  putt  off,  that  so  no  vnnecessary  damage  be  put 
on  the  country;  &  in  case  they  make  payment  in  corne,  then  to 
be  made  at  such  prises  as  the  lawe  doe  comonly  passe  amongst 
themselves,  any  other  former  or  annuall  orders  referring  to  the 
prises  of  corne  notwithstanding." 

From  this  it  may  be  seen  that  the  county  extended  south  to 
the  north  line  of  Connecticut,  and  east  and  west  from  the  towns 

(      109      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

mentioned  a  distance  of  thirty  miles,  or  an  entire  width  of  sixty 
miles.  The  north  boundary,  also,  was  indefinite  and  evidently 
was  intended  to  be  governed  by  the  thirty  mile  limit  northward 
from  Northampton,  as  the  north  boundary  of  the  colony  then  was 
uncertain.  It  may  be  said,  however,  that  the  above  description 
is  based  on  the  assumption  that  the  words,  "the  extent  of  the 
other  boundaries  to  be  full  thirty  miles  distant  from  any  or 
either  of  the  foresaid  tounes, "  refers  to  the  settled  portions  of 
each  of  them  in  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  Connecticut  river, 
and  not  the  remote  boundaries  of  those  towns  as  understood  un- 
der the  purchase  from  the  Indians. 

After  the  passage  of  the  act  it  became  necessary  for  the  peo- 
ple to  make  some  provision  for  the  conduct  of  affairs  of  the  new 
county,  and  for  that  purpose  Capt.  John  Pynchon,  Henry 
Clarke,  Capt.  Aaron  Cooke,  Lieut.  David  Milton  and  Elizur  Hol- 
yoke  were  chosen  a  committee.  On  April  2,  1663,  the  committee 
"Agreed  and  determined  that  the  beginning  of  the  year  for  the 
shire  meetings  of  this  county  shall  be  on  the  first  day  of  March 
yearly :  And  that  the  shire  meetings  shall  be  each  other  year 
at  Springfield,  and  each  other  year  at  Northampton,  in  a  constant 
course.  And  all  our  shire  meetings  this  year  to  be  at  Northamp- 
ton; Springfield  having  had  them  last  year."  Also  they  agreed 
that  the  commissioner  chosen  in  March  yearly  by  the  shire  com- 
missioner to  carry  the  votes  of  nomination  of  magistrates  to  Bos- 
ton, ' '  shall  have  allowed  him  by  the  county  thirty  shillings,  to  be 
paid  by  the  county  treasurer :  the  rest  of  his  charges  he  is  to  bear 
himself ;  and  that  no  man  be  thereby  overburthened,  it  is  deter- 
mined that  there  be  a  change  yearly  of  the  persons  to  carry  the 
votes,  except  for  necessity  of  eonveniencey  they  shall  see  cause 
to  act  otherwise." 

Having  made  the  necessary  provision  for  the  government  of 
the  new  county,  the  commissioners  also  provided  a  place  in 
Springfield  and  Northampton  for  holding  courts.  Previous  to 
this  time  William  and  John  Pynchon  had  served  in  the  capacity 
of  magistrate,  the  latter  succeeding  the  former,  and  the  proceed- 
ings conducted  by  them  were  held  in  the  Pynchon  mansion,  or 
fort,  as  more  commonly  known.       A  short  time  before  the  crea- 

(     no     ) 


COUNTY  ORGANIZATION 

tion  of  the  county  JNIr.  Pynchon  had  erected  a  large  brick  man- 
sion, which  served  the  purpose  of  a  dwelling-,  court  house,  and 
also  as  a  defensive  fortress :  and  in  the  attack  upon  and  burning 
of  Springfield  in  1675  it  furnished  ample  protection  to  the  in- 
habitants. Indeed,  so  far  as  we  have  reliable  information  on 
the  subject.  Fort  Pynchon  was  the  usual  place  for  holding  ses- 
sions of  court  for  many  years,  although  on  extraordinary  occa- 
sions the  magistrates  assembled  in  the  "ordinary,"  as  the  tav- 
ern of  the  town  was  then  called. 

On  May  25,  1659,  the  general  court  provided  for  the  estab- 
lishment of  courts  and  the  conduct  thereof,  and  on  the  organiza- 
tion of  the  county  the  magistrates  previously  appointed  were 
continued  in  office.  They  were  Capt.  John  Pynchon,  Lieut.  Eli- 
zur  Holyoke  and  Samuel  Chapin,  who  were  clothed  with  "full 
power  and  authority  to  govern  the  inhabitants  of  Springfield, 
and  to  hear  and  determine  all  cases  and  offences,  both  civil  and 
criminal,  that  shall  not  reach  life,  limb  or  banishment ;  provided 
it  shall  and  may  be  lawful  for  any  party  to  appeal  to  the  court 
of  assistants  at  Boston,  so  as  they  prosecute  the  same  to  the  order 
of  this  court ;  provided  also  that  their  trials  may  be  by  the  oaths 
of  six  men,  if  twelve  cannot  be  had  for  that  service,  and  that 
Northampton  be  referred  to  Springfield  in  reference  to  county 
courts,  which  courts  shall  be  kept,  one  on  the  last  Tuesday  in  the 
first  month,  and  the  other  on  the  last  Tuesday  in  September, 
yearly,  at  Springfield,  unless  the  commissioners  aforesaid  shall 
see  just  cause  to  keep  one  of  them  at  Northampton ;  and  the  two 
courts  to  be  kept  at  Springfield  or  Northampton,  as  aforesaid, 
shall  in  all  respects  have  the  powers  and  privileges  of  any  county 
court  till  this  court  shall  see  cause  otherwise  to  determine ;  pro- 
vided they  shall  not  warn  above  fower  [four]  jurymen  from 
Northampton  to  Springfield,  or  from  Springfield  to  Northamp- 
ton," etc. 

Under  the  authority  of  the  act  just  mentioned  a  term  of 
court  was  held  in  Springfield,  March  27,  1660,  two  years  before 
the  county  was  created,  and  was  conducted  by  the  magistrates 
mentioned.  Among  the  jurors  present  Avere  Thomas  Cooper, 
George  Colton,  Benjamin  Cooley,  Thomas    Stebbins,    Jonathan 

(      111      ) 


01 B  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

Biirt,  John  Diirableton,  Thomas  Gilbert,  Benjamin  Parsons  and 
Samnel  Marshfield,  of  Springfield,  some  of  whose  surnames  are 
still  preserved  in  Hampden  county.  After  the  organization  of 
the  county,  courts  were  held  more  systematically,  and  in  accord- 
ance with  the  provisions  of  the  general  court. 

Although  Springfield  was  designated  the  shire  town  of 
Hampshire  county  by  the  act,  sixty  years  passed  before  a  court 
house  in  fact  was  built.  Northampton  had  a  town  house  as 
early  as  1661,  and  the  building  was  subsequently  occupied  for 
court  purposes.  Springfield  was  the  older  settlement,  though 
perhaps  no  greater  in  population  than  its  neighboring  plantation 
on  the  north,  yet  the  strong  men,  the  men  of  influence  and 
wealth,  were  identified  with  the  development  of  the  older  tow^n. 

In  1661  Mr.  Pynchon  had  begun  the  erection  of  a  "house  of 
correction,"  a  less  dignified  name  for  which  is  "a  common  gaol," 
and  in  1668  the  building  Avas  completed.  It  stood  on  what  now 
is  Maple  street.  The  building  was  burned  by  the  Indians  in 
1675,  and  Avas  replaced  in  1677  with  a  more  substantial  struc- 
ture^, at  an  expense  of  about  50  pounds.  Simon  Lobdell  was 
its  keeper — the  first  jailer.  No  steps  were  taken  in  the  matter 
of  erecting  a  court  house  at  the  shire  town  until  November  29, 
1721,  w'hen  it  was  A'oted  to  build  a  structure  for  that  purpose, 
"provided  our  neighboring  towns,  viz.:  Westfield,  Suffield,  En- 
field and  Brookfield,  be  assisting  in  doeing  of  it. ' ' 

The  town  of  Springfield  offered  to  pay  one-half  of  the  cost 
of  the  building,  and  sent  Capt.  Luke  Hitchcock,  Joseph  Willis- 
ton  and  John  Worthington  as  emissaries  to  the  towns  mentioned 
to  see  what  they  would  do  in  the  matter  of  assistance.      The  re- 

'The  second  house  of  correction  and  county  jail  stood  on  the  west  side  of 
Main  street,  on  the  site  of  the  Union  house  of  later  years.  The  jailer's  dwell- 
ing adjoined  it  on  the  north  and  extended  a  few  feet  into  what  is  now  Bliss 
street.  This  was  the  jail  in  which,  in  1770.  William  Shaw,  of  Palmer,  killed 
a  fellow  prisoner  named  Edward  East ;  and  for  the  crime  Shaw  was  hanged  on 
December  13  of  the  same  year.  The  gallows  stood  on  the  hill,  about  where  the 
armory  now  stands.  It  was  a  public  execution,  and  on  the  occasion  Rev.  Moses 
Baldwin  of  Palmer,  preached  to  the  assembled  throng,  using  as  his  text,  "There- 
fore the  ungodly  shall  not  stand  in  judgment."  The  period  of  usefulness  of  the 
old  jail  was  about  120  years.  After  the  removal  of  the  seat  of  justice  of 
Hampshire  county  to  Northampton,  in  1749,  the  jail  property  and  buildings 
were  sold. 

(      112      ) 


COUNTY  ORGANIZATION 

suit  of  their  visit  is  not  shown  in  the  records,  still,  on  December 
26  Springfield  voted  that  "the  said  court  house  shall  be  fourty 
foot  long,  thirty  foot  wide,  and  seventeen  foot  stud."  It  was 
also  voted  that  the  persons  mentioned  "be  a  committee  to  make 
provision  for  and  effect  the  building  and  finishing  of  the  court 
house,"  and  to  determine  its  location.  The  sum  of  20  pounds 
was  authorized  to  be  drawn  from  the  town  treasury  for  a  build- 
ing fund. 

It  appears,  however,  that  the  adjoining  towns  failed  to  give 


The  First  Court  House 

favorable  ear  to  the  request  of  Springfield,  and  that  town  be- 
came involved  in  a  spirited  controversy  in  regard  to  the  build- 
ing. In  September,  1722,  it  was  voted  that  a  committee  be 
chosen  "to  consider  of  and  propose  some  method  or  way  to  com- 
pose the  differences  that  have  bin  or  may  arise  about  the  court 
house,  &  to  make  report  of  their  proposals  to  the  town."  ,  .  . 
"Voted,  that  Lieut.  Ephraim  Colton,  Peletiah  Bliss,  Increase 
Sikes,  Captain  John  Merick,  Lieut.  Joseph  Cooley,  Samuel  Day, 
Deacon  Joseph  Ely,  Ensign  John  Miller,  Ensign  James  Merrick 
&  Jonathan  AVorthington  to  be  the  said  committee." 


8-1 


(      113      ) 


OVB  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

At  a  subsequent  meeting  the  committee  reported  a  plan  "to 
compose  the  differences"  and  at  the  same  time  to  raise  the  means 
necessary  to  complete  the  building.  It  was  determined  to  sell 
public  land  on  the  west  side  of  the  river  "as  to  advance  the  sum 
of  thirty  pounds,"  and  enough  on  the  east  side  to  realize  forty 
pounds ;  and  if  a  sufficient  sum  was  not  then  provided  to  draw  the 
remaining  sum  from  the  treasury.  It  is  evident  that  the  treas- 
ury was  called  upon,  for  in  1724  it  was  voted  (but  afterward 
rescinded)  that  "the  Assessors  doe  assess  the  Inhabitants  the  sum 
of  Forty  &  Seven  Pounds  Ten  Shillings  &  Eleven  pence  to  defray 
the  cost  &  charges  of  building  the  Court-House. ' ' 

The  first  court  house  in  Springfield,  to  which  reference  is 
made  in  preceding  paragraphs,  stood  on  the  east  side  of  Main 
street  on  land  subsequently  taken  for  Sanford  street,  and  ex- 
tended into  Main  street  a  little  beyond  its  present  east  line.  The 
building  was  completed  in  1723,  and  in  December  of  that  year 
Samuel  Day,  Ephraim  Colton  and  Thomas  Horton  were  ap- 
pointed to  examine  the  accounts  of  the  building  committee.  On 
January  7,  1724,  the  report  of  the  examining  committee  was  ac- 
cepted by  the  town. 

The  old  first  court  house  in  Springfield  was  an  institution  of 
Hampshire  county  from  the  year  of  its  erection  until  1812— four 
score  years  and  ten— yet  occupancy  for  its  original  purpose 
ceased  Adth  the  year  1794,  when,  for  the  convenience  of  the  in- 
habitants of  the  county  generally,  Northampton  was  made  the 
shire  town,  and  all  public  records  and  properties  were  trans- 
ferred to  that  place.  Then  the  old  court  house  lost  its  useful- 
ness for  a  time,  and  for  the  next  twenty  years  was  occupied  for 
various  purposes,  chiefly  as  a  town  hall.  However,  in  1812,  on 
the  creation  of  Hampden  county,  the  building  again  was  occupied 
as  a  house  of  justice,  and  so  continued  until  the  completion  of  a 
more  commodious  structure  in  1822,  In  later  years  the  old 
pioneer  building  was  again  used  for  town  purposes,  then  was 
sold  to  the  parish  of  the  Congregational  society.  Subsequently 
it  passed  through  various  ownerships  and,  like  an  unprofitable 
tenant,  was  moved  about  from  place  to  place,  and  finally  became 
unsightly  and  crippled  with  age.  Now  it  exists  only  as  a  mem- 
ory. 

(      114      ) 


COUNTY  ORGANIZATION 

The  removal  of  the  seat  of  justice  from  Springfield  to 
Northampton  was  not  favored  by  the  people  living  in  the  south 
part  of  the  county,  and  naturally  they  complained  against  the 
change  as  being  injurious  to  their  interests.  But  they  submitted 
to  the  loss,  yielding  to  the  principle  of  "the  greatest  good  to  the 
greatest  number."  There  was  no  necessity  for  a  two-shire 
county,  with  the  expense  of  supporting  institutions  in  both,  and 
if  continued  the  northern  towns  were  entitled  to  the  same  privi- 
leges as  were  those  in  the  south  part,  hence  the  change  was  a 
necessity.  Still,  the  temporary  loss  of  the  southern  towns  re- 
sulted in  ultimate  gain,  for  in  less  than  twenty  years  Hampshire 
county  was  divided.  On  June  24,  1811,  the  northern  portion 
of  the  territory  was  set  off  to  form  Franklin  county,  and  on  Feb- 
ruary 25,  1812,  the  mother  county  again  was  divided  and  Hamp- 
den county  was  created. 

"An  act  for  dividing  the  county  of  Hampshire  and  erecting 
and  forming  the  southerly  part  thereof  into  a  separate  county 
by  the  name  of  Hampden. ' ' 

Sec.  I.  Be  it  enacted,  &c. :  "That  the  county  of  Hamp- 
shire be  and  hereby  is  divided,  and  the  following  towns  in  the 
southerly  part  thereof  be,  and  hereby  are  erected  and  formed 
into  a  county  by  the  name  of  Hampden,  that  is  to  say :  Spring- 
field, Longmeadow,  Wilbraham,  Monson,  Holland,  Brimfield, 
South  Brimfield,  Palmer,  Ludlow,  West  Springfield,  Westfield, 
Montgomery,  Russell,  Blandford,  Granville,  Southwick,  Tolland 
and  Chester,  of  which  Springfield  shall  be  the  shire  town;  and 
that  all  that  part  of  said  county  of  Hampshire  included  within 
the  boundaries  of  the  towns  before  mentioned  shall  be  deemed 
and  taken  to  compose  the  said  county  of  Hampden.  And  the  in- 
habitants of  the  said  county  of  Hampden  shall  have,  use,  exercise 
and  enjoy  all  such  powers,  rights,  privileges  and  immunities  as 
by  the  constitution  and  laws  of  this  commonwealth  other  counties 
within  the  same  have,  use,  exercise  and  enjoy." 

The  creating  act  provided  for  the  organization  of  the  county 
and  the  administration  of  its  affairs,  "from  and  after  the  1st  day 
of  August,  1812."  But  it  appears  that  Governor  Gerry,  with 
something  more  than  commendable  promptness,  on  May  20  ap- 

(      115      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

pointed  Samuel  Fowler  judge  of  probate,  and  on  the  23d  like- 
wise appointed  Jonathan  Smith,  jun.,  sherift'  of  the  county.  This 
action  at  once  awoke  great  commotion  in  political  circles  in 
Springfield,  and  resulted  in  quo  icarranto  proceedings  that  called 
for  the  best  efforts  of  "Master"  George  Bliss,  representing  the 
solicitor-general,  and  the  learned  Ueorge  Ashmun,  for  the  ap- 
pointees. This  proceeding,  however,  was  mere  political  by-play, 
for  at  the  time  the  democrats  and  the  federalists  were  arrayed  in 
bitter  political  strife.  Sheriff  Smith  was  continued  in  office  un- 
til 1814,  but  in  1813  Judge  Fowler  was  enjoined  from  further 
service  in  official  capacity.  This  was  the  first  local  victory  of 
the  federalists  over  the  democrats  of  Hampden  county. 

In  1812,  the  year  in  which  Hampden  county  was  created, 
Hampshire  county  was  represented  in  the  state  senate  by  Abner 
Brown,  Ezra  Starkweather,  Jonathan  Leavitt  and  Joshua  Green. 
The  towns  comprising  the  region  set  off'  to  form  the  new  county 
were  represented  in  the  house  as  follows :  Springfield,  by  Moses 
Chapin,  Jacob  Bliss,  Oliver  B.  Morris,  Edmund  Dwight;  Long- 
meadow,  Ethan  Ely;  Wilbraham,  Walter  Stebbins,  Abel  Bliss, 
jun.;  Monson,  Edy  Whittaker,  Stephen  Warriner;  Holland, 
represented  jointly  wdth  South  Brimfield;  Brimfield,  Stephen 
Pynchon,  Philemon  Warren:  South  Brimfield,  Royal  AYales; 
Palmer,  Jesse  King ;  Ludlow,  Sherwood  Beebe  ;  West  Springfield, 
Jonathan  Smith,  Charles  Ball,  Timothy  Horton,  Elias  Leonard ; 
Westfield,  Jedediah  Taylor,  Benjamin  Hastings;  Montgomery, 
Aaron  Parks ;  Russell,  not  represented ;  Blandf  ord,  Samuel 
Knox ;  Granville,  Israel  Parsons,  John  Phelps ;  Southwick,  Reu- 
ben Clark,  Shubel  Stiles ;  Tolland,  not  represented ;  Chester,  Syl- 
vester Emmons. 

While  the  act  of  the  legislature  made  necessary  provision 
for  the  administration  of  affairs  of  the  county,  it  remained  for 
the  people  to  settle  their  accounts  with  the  mother  territory,  and 
also  to  provide  a  suitable  place  for  holding  courts  and  offices  for 
county  officials,  for  now  Hampden  county  was  a  jurisdiction  of 
considerable  importance,  having  more  than  25,000  population, 
whereas  at  the  time  of  the  removal  of  the  seat  of  justice  to  North- 
ampton the  towns  comprising  the  county  had  barely  20,000  inhab- 

(      116      ) 


COUNTY  ORGANIZATION 

itants.  In  1790  Springfield's  population  was  1,574,  and  in  1810 
had  increased  to  2,767,  then  being  larger  than  Northampton. 

On  the  organization  of  the  county  no  definite  provision  was 
made  for  a  building  in  which  to  hold  courts  or  to  transact  county 
business,  and  it  is  believed  that  for  a  time  the  old  court  house 
again  was  brought  into  service,  and  that  on  occasion  the  town 
house  was  occupied  for  that  purpose.  However,  in  the  course 
of  a  few  years  the  court  of  sessions,  the  power  of  the  county  at 
the  time,  determined  to  build  a  new  court  house,  but  the  ques- 
tion of  location  provoked  so  much  discussion  that  nothing  was 
done  for  a  year  or  two.  Public  sentiment  was  divided  on  the 
question,  and  tradition  has  it  that  the  church  society  also  divided 
over  the  subject. 

The  matter  was  agitated  as  early  as  1818,  and  that  is  all 
that  was  accomplished  during  that  and  the  next  year.  One 
strong  element  of  the  townsfolk  advocated  the  "D wight"  loca- 
tion on  State  street,  while  another  equally  strong  contingent 
favored  a  location  on  Main  street,  on  "Meeting-house  square." 
This  location  finally  was  selected.  But  it  appears  that  action 
was  taken  none  too  soon,  for  in  1820  the  court  of  sessions  re- 
tained Samuel  Lathrop  to  appear  before  the  Supreme  judicial 
court  to  answer  an  information  filed  against  the  court  of  sessions 
for  neglect  of  duty,  in  delaying  the  erection  of  the  court  house 
and  other  county  buildings.  Just  what  became  of  this  matter 
is  not  discussed  on  the  records,  but  it  is  probable  that  the  ener- 
getic action  of  the  court  of  sessions  about  that  time  satisfied  the 
attorney-general  that  the  body  was  disposed  to  act  in  good  faith. 
At  the  same  sitting  (March,  1820)  the  court  (Heman  Day,  of 
West  Springfield,  Amos  Hamilton,  of  Palmer,  and  Stephen  Pyn- 
chon,  of  Brimfield)  appointed  John  Phelps,  Enos  Foot,  Samuel 
Lathrop,  Jonathan  Dwiglit,  jun.,  Joel  Norcross,  Amos  Hamilton 
and  Daniel  Collins  a  commission  to  consider  the  propriety  of 
erecting  county  buildings. 

The  important  matter  to  be  considered  was  the  location  of 
the  building,  whether  on  State  street  or  on  Meeting-house  square. 
The  latter  site  was  favored  by  many  of  the  prominent  men  of  the 
town,  who  agreed  among  themselves  to  purchase  a  considerable 

(      117      ) 


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COUNTY  ORGANIZATION 

tract  of  land  and  donate  to  the  county  a  sufficient  area  for  the 
buildings  and  also  for  a  public  square.  The  remaining  part 
of  the  purchase  they  proposed  to  sell  for  business  purposes,  hop- 
ing the  increased  value  of  the  lots  Avould  more  than  compensate 
them  for  the  parcels  donated;  and  in  the  light  of  subsequent 
events  connected  with  the  rapid  growth  of  the  immediate  locality 
it  is  probable  that  the  proprietors  made  a  good  investment. 

The  subscribers^  to  the  purchasing  fund  (with  the  sum  in- 
vested by  each)  were  as  follows :  Edward  Pynchon,  $800 ;  Dan- 
iel Bontecou,  $800 ;  Eleazer  Williams,  $400 ;  Elijah  Blake,  $250 ; 
Justice  Willard,  $100;  Thomas  Dickman,  $100;  James  Wells, 
$200;  John  Ingersoll,  .$100;  Henry  Brewer,  .$50;  David  Ames, 
$600 ;  Solomon  Warriner,  $200  ;  Sylvester  Clark,  $50 ;  Elisha  Ed- 
wards, $50 ;  Samuel  Ostrander,  $100 ;  Japhet  Chapin,  $100  ;  Dan- 
iel C.  Brewer,  $150 ;  Dr.  John  Stone,  $100 ;  Moses  Howe,  $100 
Alex.  Bliss,  $200 ;  John  Hooker,  $700 ;  Thomas  Sargent,  $100 ;  F 

A.  Packard,  $50;  Elisha  Curtis,  $100;  Ebenezer  Russell,  $100 
John  Hooker,  Jr.,  $50 ;  Joseph  Pease,  $50 ;  Quartus  Chapin,  $25 
Lewis  Ferre,  Jr.,  $25 ;  Pliny  Chapin,  $50 ;  Charles  Stearns,  $100 
Simon  Sanborn,  $100;  Joseph  Carver,  $100;    Israel   E.    Trask, 
$300. 

The  committee  charged  with  the  selection  of  a  site  evidently 
acted  promptly,  for  in  December,  1820,  the  court  ordered  that 
the  court  house  be  erected  and  completed  with  reasonable  dis- 
patch, on  the  "Parsons  or  Sheldon  lot,  near  to  and  fronting  and 
ranging  with  the  Rev.  Mr.  Osgood's  meeting  house,  so-called." 
It  was  also  ordered  that  the  ground  in  front  of  the  proposed  site 
be  cleared  of  its  buildings  and  be  made  a  public  common,  agree- 
able to  the  plan  made  by  Mr.  Damon,  and  that  the  proprietors 
convey  to  the  county  the  "square,"  the  court  house  lot,  and  a 
strip  on  the  east  side  of  the  latter  four  rods  wide  to  be  used  as  a 

'In  addition  to  those  who  participated  in  the  speculative  investment,  a  num- 
ber of  other  worthy  citizens  offered  to  donate  toward  the  court  house  building 
and  site  fund  on  Main  street  without  the  expectation  of  returns  from  the  sale 
of  adjoining  lots.  These  proposed  donors  were  Dr.  Joshua  Frost,  !?i;50  ;  Jonas 
Coolidge,  $100;  Edward  Bliss,  ?20 ;  A.  G.  Tannatt,  .?20 ;  Francis  Bliss,  $i:0 ; 
Daniel  Lombard,  $100  ;  Robert  W.  Bowhill,  $20  ;  Jacob  Bliss,  $20  ;  Roswell  Lom- 
bard. $20;  James  Chapin,  $20;  Roger  Adams,  $20;  Ebenezer  Tucker, $75  ;  Oliver 

B.  Morris,  $30 ;  George  Blake,  ?20. 

(      119      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

public  street.  George  Bliss  and  John  Ingersoll  were  appointed 
to  see  that  these  provisions  were  carried  into  effect  as  the  pro- 
prietors had  promised. 

The  first  Hampden  county  court  house  was  built  in  1821, 
under  the  supervision  of  Jonathan  Dwight,  jun.,  John  Phelps 
and  Daniel  Bontecou,  and  cost  $8,375.  It  was— and  is— of  brick, 
48  by  62  feet  on  the  ground  and  two  stories  high  ' '  31  feet  to  the 
eaves."  It  was  the  house  of  justice  of  the  county  more  than  half 
a  century,  and  was  in  all  respects  a  substantial  and  suitable 
structure  until  the  business  of  the  shire  became  too  large  for  its 


The  Second  Court  House,  built  1821 


further  occupancy.  In  1851  it  was  enlarged  by  the  addition  of  a 
rear  extension— temporary  improvement— but  in  less  than  twenty 
years  more  there  came  a  strong  demand  for  a  new,  modern  and 
more  commodious  court  house,  a  structure  which  in  a  measure 
should  reflect  something  of  the  growth  and  importance  of  the 
county  among  the  civil  divisions  of  the  commonwealth ;  and  when 
at  last  this  consummation  was  reached,  the  old  building^  was  sold 

'The  old  bell  which  hung  in  the  belfry,  and  which  assembled  the  court,  and 
also  in  early  days  alarmed  the  people  in  case  of  fire,  was  "tumbled"  from  Its 

(     vzo     ) 


COUNTY  ORGANIZATION 

and  put  to  other  uses,  first  as  a  business  institute  and  later  as  a 
home  for  Oddfellowship  in  Springfield.  It  still  stands  and  is 
an  enduring  monument  to  the  memory  of  the  old  Hampden  bar. 

The  third— the  present — Hampden  county  court  house  was 
authorized  by  an  act  of  the  legislature  passed  March  3,  1871,  and 
was  erected  between  that  time  and  1874,  during  the  term  of  office 
of  county  commissioners  William  M.  Lewis  of  Blandford,  George 
R.  Townsley  of  Springfield,  and  James  S.  Loomis  of  Palmer.  For 
the  purposes  of  the  building  a  site  on  the  south  side  of  Elm  street 
was  purchased  at  a  total  cost  of  $75,716.37.  The  structure  itself 
cost  $214,068.93,  and  the  interior  furnishings  the  additional  sum 
of  $14,757.99.  The  building  in  size  is  90  feet  by  160  feet  on  its 
foundations,  and  is  constructed  of  native  stone  from  the  Monson 
quarries,  sometimes  called  "Monson  granite."  The  court  house 
is  one  of  the  largest  and  most  pretentious  public  buildings  in 
Western  INIassachusetts.  In  appearance  and  architectural  de- 
sign it  is  attractive  to  the  eye  and  symmetrical  in  its  proportions. 

In  1813  the  county  purchased  an  acre  and  a  half  of  land  on 
State  street  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  thei-eon  a  "gaol  and 
house  of  correction,"  and  Jonathan  Smith,  jr.,  Jonathan 
Dwight,  jr.,  and  Daniel  Lombard  were  appointed  a  committee  to 
procure  plans  and  make  a  contract  for  the  erection  of  the  build- 
ing, "subject  to  the  further  order  of  the  court."  This  commit- 
tee reported  in  favor  of  a  stone  building,  18  by  30  feet  in  size,  and 
two  stories  high,  at  an  estimated  cost  of  about  $3,633.  Appa- 
rently something  was  wrong  with  the  proceedings,  for  soon  after- 
ward Jonathan  DAvight,  jr.,  Oliver  B.  Morris  and  John  Phelps 
were  called  on  by  the  court  to  estimate  the  cost  of  a  jail  build- 
ing. This  committee  reported  the  probable  cost  at  $5,283,  and 
the  report  was  accepted ;  and  having  performed  its  duty  the  com- 
mittee was  discharged,  and  another  like  body,  comprising  Jona- 
than Dwight,  jr.,  William  Sheldon  and  Heman  Day,  was  chosen 

hangings  in  September,  1879.  Tradition  says  tlie  bell  was  once  in  use  on  a 
British  man-of-war  and  was  captured  by  the  Americans  during  the  revolution. 
An  Inscription  on  the  bell  read.  "Thomas  Lester  of  London,  made  1742."  It 
was  purchased  for  $100  in  1821  by  John  C.  Phelps,  Jonathan  Dwight  and  Dan- 
iel Bonteceau,  and  replaced  the  bell  bought  for  $30  in  181."i  by  George  Bliss  and 
Oliver  B.  Morris. 

(      131      ) 


Hampden   County  Court  House 


COUNTY  ORGANIZATION 

to  procure  plans  and  make  a  contract  for  the  work.  It  was 
through  the  efforts  of  this  committee  that  the  land  on  State  street 
was  purchased,  at  a  cost  of  $500.  Then,  still  another  committee 
—  CTCorge  Blake,  William  Sheldon  and  John  Phelps— super- 
intended the  work  of  construction ;  and  when  the  building  was 
finally  completed  in  1814  (cost,  $14,164)  Heman  Day,  William 
Ely  and  George  Bliss  Avere  asked  to  establish  the  jail  limits. 

Thus  Hampden  county,  after  much  needless  trouble  and 
detail,  was  provided  with  a  reasonably  secure  jail  and  house  of 
correction.  But  in  later  years,  beginning  about  1830,  the  build- 
ing was  the  occasion  of  much  discussion  and  the  frequent  outlay 
of  money  in  extensions,  repairs  and  modifications,  until  the 
county,  as  a  means  of  economy,  security  and  public  benefit, 
determined  to  abandon  the  old  structure  and  erect  a  new  jail  and 
house  of  correction. 

The  first  "gaoler"  in  the  old  building  on  State  street  was 
Col.  Ebenezer  Russell,  who  served  in  that  capacity  until  1825, 
when  he  became  proprietor  of  the  "Old  Hampden  Coffee  House," 
Avhich  stood  where  the  Smith  &  Murray  store  is  now.  Col,  Har- 
vey Chapin  was  the  next  jailer,  and  was  followed,  in  succession, 
by  Maj.  William  H.  Foster  and  Noah  H.  Clark,  the  latter  taking 
office  in  1840. 

The  extreme  penalty  of  the  law  was  inflicted  on  three  pris- 
oners in  the  old  county  jail ;  first,  Alexander  Desmarteau,  who 
was  hanged  April  26,  1861,  for  the  outrage  and  murder  of  an 
eight  year  old  girl ;  second,  Albert  H.  Smith,  June  27,  1873,  for 
the  murder  of  Charles  D.  Sackett;  and  third,  Joseph  B.  Loomis, 
who  was  hanged  IMarch  8,  1883,  for  the  murder  of  David  Levett 
while  riding  with  him  through  the  Agawam  covered  bridge. 

The  old  jail  was  abandoned  February  17,  1887.  The  prop- 
erty was  sold  by  the  county  to  the  city,  and  the  site  is  now  in  part 
occupied  by  the  splendid  new  high  school  building  on  State  street. 

The  act  authorizing  the  construction  of  the  present  jail  and 
house  of  correction  on  York  street,  in  Springfield,  was  passed  by 
the  legislature  in  1884.  The  county  commissioners  purchased 
several  parcels  of  land  on  the  street  mentioned,  at  a  cost  of 
$15,100.     The  contract  for  construction  Avas  awarded  to  Creesey 

(      123      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

&  Noyes,  of  Boston,  who  erected  the  buildings  after  the  plans  of 
D.  H.  &  A.  B.  Tower,  at  a  total  cost  of  $178,000.  The  entire  cost 
of  land,  buildings,  interior  construction  and  furnishings  was 
$266,953.94. 

The  buildings  are  of  native  stone,  quarried  in  the  county, 
and  are  as  complete  as  modern  architecture  and  sanitary  methods 
can  devise.  In  all  their  appointments  the  jail  and  house  of  cor- 
rection are  a  credit  to  the  county  and  also  to  the  commissioners 
(Leonard  Clark,  of  Springfield,  Lewis  E.  Eoot,  of  Westfield,  and 
Henry  A.  Chase,  of  Holyoke),  who  were  charged  with  the  respon- 
sibilitv  of  the  work. 


CHAPTER  XI 

HAMPDEN    COUNTY    CIVIL    LIST 

Having  in  the  preceding  chapter  devoted  considerable  atten- 
tion to  the  organization  of  the  county  and  to  a  descriptive  history 
of  its  several  public  buildings  and  properties,  it  is  proper  in  the 
present  connection  to  furnish  a  record  of  the  men  w^ho  have  been 
entrusted  with  the  administrative  affairs  of  the  county  and  also 
of  those  who  have  represented  the  county  in  the  state  government. 

Glover?! or— George  Dexter  Robinson,  1884-87. 

Lieutenant-Governors— 'Eiliphalet  Trask,  1858-61;  William 
H.  Haile,  1890-93. 

Secretary  of  the  Commonwealtli—\^\\\\?ivci.  B.  Calhoun, 
1848-51. 

Treasurer  and  Receiver-General— ^Qnvj  M.  Phillips,  1894- 
95,  resigned  April  12,  1895;  Edward  S.  Bradford,  1900-  — . 

Auditor  of  Acco«?«fs— Charles  R.  Ladd,  1879-91. 

Senator  in  Congress— lsa.aQ  C.  Bates,  1840-45. 

Representatives  in  Congress— 'Elij^la.  Hunt  Mills,  1815-19 
(14th  and  15th  congresses)  ;  Samuel  Lathrop,  1821-27  (16th, 
17th,  18th  and  19th  congresses)  ;  Isaac  C.  Bates,  1827-35  (20th, 

(      124      ) 


CIVIL  LIST 

21st,  22d  and  23d  congresses)  ;  William  B.  Calhoun,  1835-43 
24th,  25th,  26th  and  27th  congresses)  ;  Osmyn  Baker,  1843-45 
(28th  congress)  ;  George  Ashmun,  1845-51  (29th,  30th  and  31st 
congresses)  ;  Henry  Morris,  1855-57  (34th  congress)  ;  Calvin  C. 
Chaffee,  1857-59  (35th  congress)  ;  Charles  Delano,  1859-63  (36th 
and  37th  congresses)  ;  Chester  W.  Chapin,  1875-77  (44th  con- 
gress) ;  George  D.  Robinson,  1877-83,  resigned  in  1883  to  be  gov- 
ernor (45th,  46th  and  47th  congresses)  ;  William  Whiting,  1883- 
89  (48th,  49th  and  50th  congresses)  ;  Frederick  H.  Gillett,  1893- 
1901  (53d,  54th,  55th  and  56th  congresses,  and  re-elected  for 
another  term). 

Elijah  Hunt  Mills  was  not  directly  a  Hampden  representa- 
tive, but  was  so  closely  identitied  Avith  the  civil  and  political 
history  of  the  county  that  his  name  is  worthy  of  mention  here. 

Presidents  of  tlie  /^enaie— Samuel  Lathrop,  1829-30,  resigned 
1830 ;  George  Bliss,  1835,  to  fill  vacancy ;  William  B.  Calhoun, 
1846-47. 

Senators— J onaihan  Smith,  jr.,  1813  ;  Thomas  Dwight,  1814; 
Samuel  Lathrop,  S.  C.  Allen,  Elijah  Hunt  Mills  (representing 
the  Hampden  district,  Hampden,  Hampshire  and  Franklin  coun- 
ties), 1815;  Ezra  Starweather,  Samuel  Lathrop,  Elijah  Paine, 
1816;  Ezra  Starkweather,  Samuel  Lathrop,  Elijah  Paine, 
Ephraim  Williams,  1817 ;  Samuel  Lathrop,  Samuel  Porter,  Elihu 
Hoyt,  Peter  Bryant,  1818 ;  Samuel  Lathrop,  Elihu  Hoyt,  Jona- 
than H.  Lyman,  Jonathan  Dwight,  jr.,  1819 ;  Elihu  Hoyt,  Jona- 
than H.  Lyman,  Jonathan  Dwight,  jr.,  Thomas  Longly,  1820 ; 
Jonathan  H.  Lyman,  Jonathan  DAvight,  jr.,  Thomas  Longly, 
Mark  Doolittle,  1821 ;  Elihu  Hoyt,  Jonathan  DAvight,  jr.,  Mark 
Doolittle,  Alanson  Knox,  1822 ;  Jonathan  DAA'ight,  jr.,  James 
FoAA'ler,  1823;  James  FoAvler,  John  Mills,  1824;  James  FoAvler, 
John  Mills,  1825 ;  John  Mills,  Justice  Willard,  1826 ;  John  Mills, 
Joshua  Frost,  1827;  John  Mills,  Jonathan  Dwight,  jr.,  1828; 
James  FoAvler,  Samuel  Lathrop,  1829,  1830  and  1831 ;  Enos  Foot, 
John  Wiles,  1832 ;  Patrick  Boise,  James  Byers,  1833  and  1834 ; 
George  Bliss,  Abel  Bliss,  1835 ;  Orren  Sage,  Harvey  Chapin,  1836 
and  1837;  George  Ashmun,  Reuben  Boies,  jr.,  1838  and  1839; 
Asa  Lincoln,  Matthew  Ives,  jr.,  1840 ;  AVilliam  G.  Bates,  William 

(      125      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

Child,  1841 ;  John  JNIills,  Reuben  Champion,  1842 ;  Asa  Lincoln, 
Reuben  Champion,  1843;  Joseph  M,  Forward,  Jehiel  Abbott, 
1844 :  Jehiel  Abbott,  Charles  Stearns,  1845 ;  William  B.  Calhoun, 
Forbes  Kyle,  1846  and  1847;  Edward  Parsons,  AYillis  Phelps, 
1848 ;  Edward  Parsons,  Aaron  King,  1849 ;  Aaron  King,  James 
Cooley,  1850:  Erasmus  D.  Beach,  David  Mosely,  1851;  Calvin 
Torrey,  Amasa  Holeomb,  1852 ;  George  Dwight,  Edward  B.  Gil- 
lett,  1853 ;  James  Holland,  Joseph  L.  Reynolds,  1854 ;  William  0. 
Fletcher,  Gilbert  Pillsbury,  1855 ;  Hiram  C.  Brown,  Benning 
Leavitt,  1856;  Gad  0.  Bliss,  Matthew  D.  Field,  1857;  Aaron 
Bagg,  George  Walker,  1858  and  1859 ;  Timothy  W,  Carter,  Gor- 
don M.  Fisk,  1860  and  1861;  Milton  B.  Whitney,  James  M. 
Thompson,  1862;  Milton  B.  Whitney,  George  Dwight,  1863; 
AYilliam  B.  C.  Pearsons,  Thomas  L.  Chapman,  1864;  Thomas 
Kneil,  Henry  Alexander,  jr.,  1865  and  1866 ;  Henry  Alexander, 
Hinsdale  Smith,  1867 ;  Henry  Alexander,  Henry  Fuller,  1868 ; 
Charles  R.  Ladd,  George  S.  Taylor,  1869 ;  Charles  R.  Ladd,  W. 
W.  Jenness,  1870  ;  Timothy  A.  Packard,  George  M.  Stearns,  1871 ; 
William  L.  Smith,  Reuben  Noble,  1872;  Timothy  F.  Packard, 
William  Whiting,  1873;  E.  Howard  Lathrop,  Henry  Fuller, 
1874;  Henry  S.  Hyde,  Henry  Fuller,  1875;  Tilley  Haynes, 
George  D.  Robinson,  1876 ;  Tilley  Haynes,  Henry  C.  Ewing,  1877 ; 
Charles  L.  Gardner,  Henry  C.  Ewing,  1878 ;  Charles  L.  Gardner, 
A.  C.  Woodworth,  1879 ;  Marcus  P.  Knowlton,  Emerson  Gaylord, 
1880  and  1881;  William  H.  Haile,  Charles  A.  Corser,  1882; 
William  H.  Haile,  Dexter  B.  Hitchcock,  1883 ;  William  R.  Ses- 
sions, Albert  C.  Woodworth,  1884;  AVilliam  R.  Sessions,  James 
R.  Dunbar,  1885 ;  Henry  M.  Phillips,  James  R.  Dunbar,  1886 ; 
Henry  M.  Phillips,  Levi  Perkins,  1887 ;  Charles  C.  Spellman, 
Levi  Perkins,  1888 ;  Edwin  D.  INIetcalf ,  George  W.  Gibson,  1889 ; 
EdAvin  D.  Metcalf ,  Oscar  Ely,  1890 ;  Frank  E.  Carpenter,  AYill- 
iam  Provin,  1891;  Charles  C.  Merritt,  William  Provin,  1892; 
Solomon  F.  Cushman,  AVilliam  P.  Buckley,  1893 ;  Edwin  F.  Ly- 
ford,  William  P.  Buckley,  1894 ;  Edward  S.  Bradford,  Marciene 
H.  Whitcomb,  1895 ;  Edward  S.  Bradford,  William  A.  Chase, 
1896 ;  Edward  S.  Bradford,  Dwight  H.  Ives,  1897 ;  William  W. 
Leach,  William  B.  Mahoney,  1898 :  Thomas  W.  Kenefick,  George 

(      12G      ) 


CIVIL  LIST 

N.  Tyner,  1899 ;  Thomas  W.  Keuefiek,  William  B.  Mahoney,  1900 ; 
John  F.  Marsh,  Charles  A.  Corser,  1901. 

Members  of  House  of  Representatives— 1^1^— ^^r'ln^fieldi, 
Moses  Chapin,  Edmund  Dwight,  AVilliam  Sheldon ;  Westfield, 
Benjamin  Hastings,  Frederick  Fowler,  Azariah  Mosely;  Brim- 
field,  Stephen  Pynchon,  Philomel  AVarren ;  Blandford,  Alanson 
Knox,  Solomon  Noble ;  Palmer,  Jesse  King ;  Granville,  John 
Phelps,  Asa  Seymour;  Monson,  Abner  Brown,  Stephen  Warri- 
ner ;  South  Brimfield,  William  Putnam ;  AYilbraham,  not  repre- 
sented ;  Chester,  Sylvester  Emmons,  John  N.  Parmenter ;  South- 
wick,  Keuben  Clark,  Shubael  Stiles;  West  Springfield,  Charles 
Ball,  James  Kent,  John  Porter,  Horace  Flower;  Ludlow,  Ely 
Fuller;  Montgomery,  Aaron  Parks;  Longmeadow,  Ethan  Ely; 
Russell,  none ;  Tolland,  Thomas  Hamilton ;  Holland,  unites  with 
South  Brimfield. 

1814— Springfield,  Moses  Chapin,  Oliver  B.  Morris,  Edmund 
Dwight ;  W^estfield,  Benjamin  Hastings,  Frederick  Fowler, 
Azariah  Mosely;  Brimfield,  Stephen  Pynchon,  Alexander  Ses- 
sions ;  Blandford,  Alanson  Knox,  Alexander  Wilson ;  Palmer,  Al- 
pheus  Converse;  Granville,  David  Curtis,  Israel  Parsons;  Mon- 
son, Abner  Brown,  Jesse  Ives;  South  Brimfield,  Royal  Wales; 
Wilbraham,  Joseph  Lathrop,  William  Clark;  Chester,  Sylvester 
Emmons;  Southwick,  Enos  Foot,  Shubael  Stiles;  West  Spring- 
field, Elias  Leonard,  James  Kent,  John  Porter,  Luke  Parsons; 
Ludlow,  Ely  Fuller ;  Montgomery,  none ;  Longmeadow,  Calvin 
Burt ;  Russell,  none ;  Tolland,  Thomas  Hamilton  ;  Holland,  unites 
with  South  Brimfield. 

1815 — Springfield,  Joseph  Pease,  Samuel  Orne,  Edmund 
Bliss ;  Westfield,  Benjamin  Hastings,  Frederick  Fowler,  Azariah 
Mosely ;  Brimfield,  Stephen  Pynchon,  Alexander  Sessions ; 
Blandford,  Alanson  Knox,  Andrew  Wilson;  Palmer,  Alpheus 
Converse ;  Granville,  David  Curtis,  James  Barlow ;  Monson,  Ab- 
ner Brown,  Jesse  Ives;  South  Brimfield,  John  Weaver;  Wilbra- 
ham, Joseph  Lathrop,  Robert  Sessions ;  Chester,  Asahel  Wright ; 
Southwick,  Doras  Stiles;  West  Springfield,  Jonathan  Smith,  jr., 
David  Morlej%  Luke  Parsons,  Gad  Warriner;  Ludlow,  Ely  Ful- 
ler; ]\Iontgomery,  none;    Longmeadow,    Calvin    Burt;    Russell, 

(      137      ) 


OLE  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

none;  Tolland,  Perez  Marshall;  Holland,  nnites  with  South 
Brimfield. 

1816 — Springfield,  Edmund  Dwight,  Joseph  Pease,  Edmund 
Bliss;  Westfield,  Benjamin  Hastings,  Azariah  Mosely,  William 
Blair ;  Brimfield,  Stephen  Pynchon,  Israel  E.  Trask ;  Blandford, 
Alanson  Knox,  Isaac  Lloyd;  Palmer,  Jesse  King;  Granville, 
David  Curtis,  James  Cooley ;  Mouson,  Abner  Brown ;  South 
Brimfield,  James  L.  Wales ;  AVilbraham,  Joseph  Lathrop,  Robert 
Sessions;  Chester,  Sylvester  Emmons;  Southwick,  Doras  Stiles; 
West  Springfield,  Jonathan  Smith,  Charles  Ball,  Gad  Warriner, 
Alfred  Flower;  Ludlow,  Eli  Fuller;  Montgomery,  none;  Long- 
meadow,  Alexander  Field ;  Russell,  none ;  Tolland,  Perez  Mar- 
shall ;  Holland  unites  with  South  Brimfield. 

1817— Springfield,  William  Ely,  Moses  Chapin,  Jonathan 
D wight,  Justin  Lombard;  Westfield,  Benj.  Hastings,  William 
Blair,  James  Fowler;  Brimfield,  Alexander  Sessions,  Solomon 
Hoar;  Blandford,  Isaac  Lloyd,  David  Boies  2d;  Palmer,  Amos 
Hamilton ;  Granville,  James  Cooley,  Perry  Babcock ;  Monson, 
Abner  Brown,  William  Clark ;  South  Brimfield,  James  L.  Wales ; 
Wilbraliam,  Robert  Sessions,  Moses  Burt;  Chester,  John  Ellis; 
Southwick,  Enos  Foote ;  West  Springfield,  Jonathan  Smith, 
Charles  Ball,  Alfred  Flower,  David  Hastings ;  Ludlow,  Ely  Ful- 
ler ;  Montgomery,  none ;  Longmeadow,  Alexander  Field ;  Russell, 
none ;  Tolland,  none ;  Holland  unites  with  South  Brimfield, 

1818— Springfield,  Jacob  Bliss;  AVestfield,  Azariah  Mosely; 
Brimfield,  Alexander  Sessions ;  Blandford,  Abner  Gibbs ;  Palmer, 
Amos  Hamilton ;  Granville,  James  Cooley,  Perry  Babooek ;  ]Mon- 
son,  Stephen  Warriner ;  South  Brimfield,  John  Weaver ;  Wilbra- 
ham,  Robert  Sessions ;  Chester,  none ;  Southwick,  Enos  Foote ; 
West  Springfield,  Jonathan  Smith ;  Ludlow,  none ;  Montgomery, 
none ;  Longmeadow,  none  ;  Russell,  none  ;  Tolland,  none ;  Holland 
unites  with  South  Brimfield. 

1819— Springfield,  Jacob  Bliss ;  Westfield,  David  King,  Wil- 
liam Blair ;  Brimfield,  Stephen  Pynchon ;  Blandford,  Abner 
Gibbs ;  Palmer,  James  Stebbins ;  Granville,  James  Cooley,  Reu- 
ben Hills ;  Monson,  Deodatus  Dutton ;  South  Brimfield,  none  ; 
AVilbrahara,  none;  Chester,  Daniel  Collins;  Southwick,  Gideon 

(      128      ) 


CIVIL  LIST 

Stiles ;  West  Spring:tiel{l,  Jonathan  Smith ;  Ludlow,  none ;  Mont- 
gomery, none ;  Longmeadow,  Joseph  W.  Cooley ;  Russell,  none, 
Tolland,  none,  Holland,  none. 

1820— Springtield,  Jacob  Bliss;  AVestfield,  none;  Brimfield, 
Stephen  Pynehon ;  Blandford,  Abner  Gibbs ;  Palmer,  none ; 
Granville,  James  Cooley,  Reuben  Hills;  Monson,  Deodatus  But- 
ton ;  South  Brimfield  and  Holland,  Timothy  Fenton  ;  AVilbraham, 
none ;  Chester,  none ;  Southwick,  Gideon  Stiles ;  AVest  Springfield, 
Jonathan  Smith ;  Ludlow,  none ;  Montgomery,  none ;  Long- 
meadow,  Joseph  AV.  Cooley ;  Russell,  none ;  Tolland,  none. 

1821  — Springfield,  Daniel  Bonteeeau;  AA^estfield,  AA^illiam 
Atwater ;  Brimfield,  Stephen  Pynehon  ;  Blandford,  none  ;  Palmer, 
James  Stebbins;  Granville,  Francis  Stebbins,  James  Barlow; 
Monson,  Abraham  Haskell ;  South  Brimfield  and  Holland,  none ; 
AA^ilbraham,  Abel  Bliss,  jr. ;  Chester,  AA^illiam  AA^ade ;  Southwick, 
Joseph  Forward;  AA'est  Springfield,  Charles  Ball;  Ludlow,  none; 
jMontgomery,  none ;  Longmeadow,  none ;  Russell,  none ;  Tolland, 
none. 

1822— Springfield,  George  Bliss;  AA'estfield,  James  Fowler; 
Brimfield,  Stephen  Pynehon ;  Blandford,  David  Blair,  jr. ; 
Palmer,  none;  Granville,  Joel  Root;  Monson,  Abijah  Newell; 
South  Brimfield,  Samuel  AA^ebber ;  AVilbraham,  none ;  Chester, 
Horace  Smith ;  Southwick,  Joseph  Forward ;  AA^est  Springfield, 
Caleb  Rice  ;  Ludlow,  none ;  Montgomery,  none  ;  Longmeadow, 
Oliver  Bliss  ;  Russell,  none  ;  Holland,  none ;  Tolland,  Henry  Ham- 
ilton. 

1823— Springfield,  Thomas  Dickman ;  AA^estfield,  none; 
Brimfield,  Stephen  Pynehon ;  Blandford,  none ;  Palmer,  Clark 
AIcjNIaster ;  Granville,  Francis  Stebbins ;  Monson,  none ;  South 
Brimfield,  Alfred  Needham  ;  AA^ilbraham,  none ;  Chester,  none ; 
Southwick,  Joseph  Forward ;  AA^est  Springfield,  Luke  Parsons ; 
Ludlow,  none ;  jMontgomery,  none ;  Longmeadow,  none ;  Russell, 
none ;  Holland,  none ;  Tolland,  Henry  Hamilton. 

1824— Springfield,  Justice  AA^illard ;  AA^estfield,  Elijah 
Arnold,  Alfred  Stearns ;  Brimfield,  John  AA^yles ;  Blandford, 
Alanson  Knox ;  Palmer,  none ;  Granville,  Jesse  Root ;  Monson, 
Luther  Carter ;  South  Brimfield,  none ;  AA^ilbraham,  none ;  Ches- 

9-1  (      129      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

ter,  Horace  Smith;  Soiitluvick,  Ciideon  Stiles;  West  Springfield, 
Luke  Parsons.  Jonathan  E.  Ferre,  Alfred  Flower,  Daniel  Mer- 
rick :  Ludlow,  none ;  INIontgomery,  Oren  Parks ;  Longmeadow, 
none :  Kiissell,  none :  Holland  and  South  Brimfield,  Alvin  Need- 
ham  :  Tolland,  Samuel  Hamilton. 

1825— Springfield.  Solomon  Hatch.  Jesse  Pendleton:  "West- 
field.  Elijah  Arnold :  Brimfield,  none :  Blaudford,  David  Blair, 
jr.;  Palmer,  John  Frink ;  Granville,  Francis  Stebbins;  Monson. 
none :  South  Brimfield,  none ;  AVilbraham,  Abel  Bliss ;  Chester, 
Asa  Wilcox,  Sylvester  Emmons ;  Southwdck,  Gideon  Stiles ; 
West  Springfield,  Caleb  Rice,  Luther  Frink;  Ludlow,  none; 
Montgomery,  none;  Longmeadow,  none;  Holland,  none;  Tolland, 
Samuel  Appleton. 

1826— Springfield,  William  B.  Calhoun;  Westfield,  none; 
Brimfield,  John  AVyles ;  Blandf  ord,  Reuben  Boies,  jr. ;  Palmer, 
none ;  Granville,  James  Cooley ;  Monson,  Jonathan  Torrey :  South 
Brimfield,  none ;  Wilbraham,  none ;  Chester,  none ;  Southwick, 
none;  West  Springfield,  Caleb  Rice;  Ludlow,  none;  Montgomery, 
none  ;  Longmeadow,  none ;  Russell,  none ;  Holland,  none ;  Tolland, 
none. 

1827 — Springfield,  George  Bliss,  Jonathan  Dwight.  jr..  Jesse 
Pendleton,  William  B.  Calhoun,  William  H.  Foster;  AVestfield. 
Aaron  Sibley,  David  Wright,  Charles  Douglas;  Brimfield,  none: 
Blandford,  Reuben  Boies,  jr.;  Palmer,  Asa  Ward:  Granville, 
Hezekiah  Robinson ;  Monson,  Luther  Carter ;  South  Brimfield, 
none :  Wilbraham,  Abel  Bliss,  Dudley  B.  Post ;  Chester,  none ; 
Southwick.  Gideon  Stiles ;  M^est  Springfield,  Caleb  Rice ;  hnd- 
low,  none ;  INIontgomery,  none :  LongmeadoAv,  Elijah  Colton ; 
Russell,  none ;  Holland,  Leonard  M.  Morris :  Tolland,  none. 

1828— Springfield,  George  Bliss,  jr..  William  B.  Calhoun. 
William  Child,  AVilliam  H.  Foster,  Jesse  Pendleton,  David  Rice, 
Simon  Sanborn ;  AA'estfield,  Charles  Douglas,  Matthew  Ives, 
Aaron  Sibley :  Brimfield,  Lewis  Williams :  Blandford,  Reuben 
Boies,  jr.;  Palmer,  none;  Granville,  Jonathan  D.  Bancroft;  Mon- 
son. Benjamin  Fuller;  South  Brimfield  and  Holland,  Bela  Tif- 
fany; Wilbraham,  Abel  Bliss,  Robert  Sessions;  Chester.  Isaac 
Whipple :  Southwick.  Thaddeus    Foote.    Joseph    INI.    Forward ; 

(      130      ) 


CIVIL  LIST 

West  Springfield,  Albert  Flower,  James  Kent,  John  Street,  Nor- 
mand  "NVarriner;  Liullow,  Kli  Fuller:  Montgomery,  none;  Long- 
meadow,  Seth  Taylor:  Rnssell,  John  Gould:  Tolland,  Henry 
Bliss. 

1829— Springfield,  George  Bliss,  jr.,  William  B.  Calhoun, 
William  Child,  William  H.  Foster,  Frederick  A.  Packard,  Jesse 
Pendleton.  Simon  Sanborn :  Westfield,  Jesse  Farnham :  Brim- 
field,  Lewis  Williams :  Blandford,  Israel  Cannon,  Alanson  Knox ; 
Palmer,  Daniel  King:  Granville,  Patrick  Boise;  Monson,  Jona- 
than Torrey :  Wales,  none :  Wilbraham,  Luther  Brewer :  Chester, 
Forbes  Kyle:  Southwiek,  Joseph  M.  Forward:  West  Springfield, 
Caleb  Rice ;  Ludlow,  none :  INIontgomery,  Moses  Parks ;  Long- 
meadow.  Seth  Taylor:  Russell,  Abel  Tuttle,  jr.;  Holland  and 
South  Brimfield,  none ;  Tolland,  Henry  Bliss. 

1830— Springfield,  William  B.  Calhoun,  Ithamar  Goodman, 
William  H.  Foster.  Charles  Howard,  Jesse  Pendleton,  William 
Rice,  Eleazer  Williams:  Westfield,  Henry  Douglas,  Jesse  Far- 
num,  Eli  B.  Hamilton;  Brimfield,  Oliver  Blair,  John  Wyles; 
Blandford,  Reuben  Boies,  jr. :  Palmer,  John  Sedgwick ;  Granville, 
James  Cooley:  Monson,  Jonathan  Torrey;  Wilbraham,  Luther 
Brewer,  Jacob  B.  Merrick;  Chester,  Isaac  B.  Whipple;  South- 
wick,  Joseph  M.  Forward,  Gideon  Stiles :  West  Springfield,  Reu- 
I)en  Champion,  jr.,  AVarren  Chapin,  Robert  Ely,  Spencer  Flower; 
Ludlow,  Alexander  McLean:  Montgomery,  Benjamin  Phillips, 
jr.:  Longmeadow,  Seth  Taylor:  Russell,  Reuben  Palmer;  Wales 
and  Holland,  John  Wallis :  Tolland,  Launcelot  Granger. 

1831— Blandford,  Orrin  Sage ;  Brimfield,  John  Wyles:  Ches- 
ter, Forbes  Kyle :  Granville,  Patrick  Boise :  Longmeadow,  Elisha 
Burnham;  Ludlow,  Aaron  J.  Miller;  Montgomery,  John  Crow; 
Palmer,  Cyrus  Knox;  Russell,  John  Gould;  Southwiek,  Levi  W. 
Humphreys,  Abraham  Rising,  jr.:  Springfield,  William  B.  Cal- 
houn, William  Child,  Jesse  Pendleton,  Silas  Stedman,  Eleazer 
Williams :  Tolland,  Launcelot  Granger ;  Wales  and  Holland, 
Charles  Gardner:  Westfield,  Joseph  Avery,  Henry  Douglas, 
Henry  Fowler:  West  Springfield,  Henry  Ely,  Lewis  Warriner; 
Wilbraham,  William  S.  Burt. 

1832— Blandford,  Lyman  Gibbs,  David  Parks;  Brimfield, 
Issacher  Brown,  Festus  Foster ;  Chester,  AVilliam  Shepard ;  Gran- 

(      131      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

ville,  Patrick  Boise,  Samuel  Root;  Longmeadow,  Seth  Taylor; 
Ludlow,  Theodore  Sikes;  Monson,  Benjamin  Fuller;  Montgom- 
ery, Oren  Parks;  Palmer,  Joseph  Lee;  Russell,  Roland  Parks; 
Southwick,  Amasa  Holeomb ;  Springfield,  George  Bliss,  William 
Child,  Jonas  Coolidge,  AVilliam  B.  Calhoun,  Silas  Stedman ;  Tol- 
land, Noah  Shepard;  AYales  and  Holland,  Elbridge  G.  Fuller; 
"Westfield,  Elias  Cadwell,  Frederick  Fowler,  jr.,  Matthew  Ives, 
jr. ;  AYest  Springfield,  Linus  Bagg,  "Warren  Chapin,  Henry 
Phelan,  Lewis  Warriner ;  Wilbraham,  Abraham  Avery,  Sylvanus 
Stebbins. 

1833— Blandford,  Leicester  E.  Gibbs,  Justin  AYilcox ;  Brim- 
field,  Royal  AYales,  Solomon  Hoar ;  Chester,  AYilliam  Shepard ; 
Granville,  Elisha  Seymour,  Noah  Cooley;  Longmeadow,  Seth 
Taylor;  Ludlow,  Theodore  Sykes;  Monson,  Carlton  Squire,  Oli- 
ver McKinstry ;  IVlontgomery,  Oren  Parks ;  Palmer,  Daniel  King ; 
Russell,  Chauncey  AA^.  Morse ;  SoutliAvick,  Amasa  Holeomb ; 
Springfield,  George  Ashmun,  George  Bliss,  Thomas  Bond,  AYil- 
liam B.  Calhoun,  Jonas  Coolidge,  Joseph  Pease,  Charles  Pack- 
ard ;  Tolland,  Roger  Harrison  ;  AA'ales  and  Holland,  Alfred  Need- 
ham;  AA'estfield,  Frederick  FoAvler,  jr.,  Lewis  Fowler,  Matthew 
Ives,  jr.;  AVest  Springfield,  Linus  Bagg,  Henry  Phelan,  Asa  B. 
AA^hitman ;  AYilbraham,  Abraham  Avery,  AA^illiam  S.  Burt. 

1834 — Blandford,  Logan  Crosby,  Orrin  Sage;  Brimfield, 
Julius  Buel,  Marquis  Converse ;  Chester,  Forbes  Kyle,  Thomas 
F.  Plunkett ;  Granville,  Denison  Parsons,  Samuel  Root;  Long- 
meadow, Seth  Taylor ;  Ludlow,  Theodore  Sikes ;  Monson,  none ; 
Montgomery,  Oren  Parks ;  Palmer,  Robert  Hitchcock ;  Russell, 
John  Gould;  Southwick,  Abraham  Rising,  jr.;  Springfield,  AVal- 
ter  H.  Bowdoin,  Joel  Brown,  AA^illiam  B.  Calhoun,  Benjamin  Day, 
Eldad  Goodman,  Joseph  Pease,  Charles  Stearns,  AA^alter  Warri- 
ner; Tolland,  Roger  Harrison;  AA^ales  and  Holland,  Elbridge  G. 
Fuller ;  AA^estfield,  Asahel  Bush,  Lewis  Fowler,  Norman  T.  Leon- 
ard; AA^est  Springfield,  Hosea  Day,  Henry  Ely,  Josiah  Johnson, 
Lewns  AA^arriner ;  AYilbraham,  Stephen  Stebbins. 

1835— Blandford,  Kilborn  Bates,  Milton  Boies;  Brimfield, 
Abner  Brown,  Festus  Foster ;  Chester,  Lewis  Collins,  Thomas  F. 
Plunkett ;    Granville,    Noah    Cooley,    Elijah  Seymour ;    Long- 

(      132      ) 


CIVIL  LIST 

meadow,  Oliver  Bliss ;  Ludlow,  Theodore  Sikes ;  IMonson,  Oliver 
McKinstry,  Carlton  Sqiiier;  Montgomery,  Oren  Parks;  Palmer, 
Cyrus  Knox;  Russell,  Justin  Loomis;  Southwiek,  Elisha  Steer; 
Springfield,  George  Ashmun,  Walter  H.  Bowdoin,  Joel  Brown, 
William  Child,  Orange  Chapin,  Eldad  Goodman,  Wells  South- 
worth,  Walter  Warriner;  Tolland,  Roger  Harrison;  Wales  and 
Holland,  Alfred  Needham :  Westfield,  Asahel  Bush,  Harvey 
Champion,  Chauncey  Pease :  West  Springfield,  Hosea  Day,  Ben- 
jamin Leonard,  Heber  jNIiller,  Seth  Parsons;  Wilbraham,  Abra- 
ham Avery,  Stephen  Stebbins. 

1836— Blandford,  Curtis  Hall,  Russell  A.  Wilson  ;  Brimfield, 
Festus  Foster,  Linus  Hoar:  Chester,  Lewis  Collins,  William 
Henrj';  Granville,  Alpheus  Bancroft,  Dennison  Parsons;  Long- 
meadow,  Purges  Salisbury:  Ludlow,  Theodore  Sikes ;  Monson, 
AVelcome  Converse;  Montgomery,  Ransom  Clark;  Palmer,  Alonzo 
V.  Blanchard,  Emelius  Bond;  Rl^ssell,  Chauncey  W.  Moi-se; 
Southwiek,  Robert  Forward ;  Springfield,  George  Ashmun,  Lem- 
uel W.  Blake,  Orange  Chapin,  William  Child,  Joel  IMiller,  Rich- 
ard D.  Morris,  Wells  Southworth,  Charles  Stearns,  Samuel  B. 
Spooner,  Samuel  A.  Stebbins:  Tolland,  Archibald  AVright;  Wales 
and  Holland.  John  S.  Smith;  Westfield,  Harvey  Champion, 
Thomas  Loomis,  Chauncey  Pease  ;  West  Springfield,  Amasa  Ains- 
worth,  Reuben  Champion,  Dwight  Leonard,  Samuel  Noble ;  Wil- 
braham, William  Knight,  Walter  Stebbins. 

1837— Blandford,  Adam  Blair,  David  Collins;  Brimfield, 
Royal  Wales,  John  M.  Warren :  Chester,  William  Henry ;  Gran- 
ville, Levi  Parsons,  Elijah  Seymour;  Longmeadow,  Burgess 
Salisbury;  Ludlow.  Joseph  Bucklin :  Monson,  Welcome  Converse, 
Hiram  Newton :  Montgomery,  Oren  Parks :  Palmer,  Sylvester 
Parks,  John  Ward ;  Russell,  John  Gould ;  Southwiek,  Robert  For- 
ward ;  Springfield,  David  Bemis,  Samuel  Bowles,  Chauncey  Cha- 
pin, Alpheus  Nettleton,  Samuel  H.  Stebbins,  Stephen  C.  Bemis, 
Austin  Chapin  2d,  Joel  Miller,  Edmund  Palmer,  Daniel  W.  Wil- 
lard:  Tolland,  Archibald  Wright:  Wales  and  Holland,  Lyman 
Gould ;  Westfield,  Elias  Cadwell,  Thomas  Loomis,  Joseph  Hedges, 
Lucius  Wright :  West  Springfield,  Linus  Bagg,  Josiah  Johnson, 
Luther  Frink,  Lewis  Warriner;  Wilbraham,  William  Knight, 
Walter  Stebbins. 

(      133      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

1838— BlandfortI,  Samuel  S.  Day;  Brimfield,  John  AV.  Bliss 
Chester,    Forbes   Kyle;    Granville,    Elijah    Seymour;    Holland 
none;  Longmeadow,  Elijah  Colton;    Ludlow,    Joseph    Bueklin 
Mouson,     Lucius    F.    Newton ;    INIontgoraery,    William    Squier 
Palmer,  Abel  Calkins,  Marble  H.  Terrill ;  Russell,  Jere  Bishop 
Southwick,  Warren  Byington ;  Springfield,  Luke  Bemis,  jr.,  Wil- 
liam Dwight,  Josiah  Hooker,  Alpheus  Nettleton,  Samuel  H.  Steb- 
bins,  Daniel  W.  Willard  ;  Tolland,  none  ;  Wales,  none  ;  Westfield, 
Joseph  Hedges,  Matthew  Ives,  jr. ;  West    Springfield,    Pelatiah 
Ely,  Samuel  Noble  ;  AYilbraham,  Walter  Stebbins,  William  Wood. 

1839— Blandford,  none ;  Brimfield,  Samuel  Tarbell,  Abner 
Hitchcock ;  Chester,  William  Shepard ;  Granville,  Francis  Pee- 
bles; Holland,  none;  Longmeadow,  Calvin  Burt;  Ludlow,  none; 
Monson,  Horatio  Lyon,  Calvin  Munn;  Montgomery,  Oren  Parks; 
Palmer,  William  Blanchard,  James  Gamwell ;  Russell,  Benj  Ben- 
nett; Southwick,  iNIoses  Loomis,  Elisha  Steer;  Springfield,  George 
Bliss,  Elijah  Blake,  Orange  Chapin,  William  Child,  Charles 
M'Clallan,  Sylvester  Taylor;  Tolland,  George  AV.  Granger; 
AVales,  Absolom  Gardner;  AA'^estfield,  Joseph  Arnold,  Asa  B. 
AYhitman,  Lucius  AV  right ;  AVest  Springfield,  Edwin  H.  Ball, 
Josiah  Johnson  ;  AVilbraham,  Jesse  AV,  Rice,  AA^illiam  V.  Sessions. 

1840 — Blandford,  Simeon  AA^.  Loring;  Brimfield,  Penuel 
Parker ;  Chester,  Joshua  Stevens ;  Granville,  Jonathan  B.  Ban- 
croft ;  Holland,  none ;  Longmeadow,  Gad  O.  Bliss ;  Ludlow,  Den- 
nis Knowlton  ;  Monson,  Hiram  Newton  ;  Montgomery,  Noah  Shel- 
don ;  Palmer,  Franklin  Alorgan,  Asa  Shumway ;  Russell,  James 
Bishop ;  Southwick,  AVarren  Byington ;  Springfield,  none ;  Tol- 
land, Leonard  Cowles  ;  AVales,  James  C.  Royce  ;  AVestfield,  Joseph 
Arnold,  Asa  B.  AA'hitman ;  AVest  Springfield,  Spencer  Flower, 
Lyman  AVhitman,  Lester  AVilliams;  AVilbraham,  John  Carpen- 
ter, Stephen  Stebbins. 

1841— Blandford,  Horatio  G.  Lewis;  Brimfield,  Ebenezer 
AVilliams;  Chester,  Thomas  S.  Wade;  Granville,  Aaron  L.  Cur- 
tis; Holland,  Horace  AA^allis ;  Longmeadow,  Gad  0.  Bliss;  Lud- 
low, none;  Monson,  none;  Montgomery,  Ransom  Clark;  Palmer, 
Olney  Gofif;  Russell,  Roland  Parks;  Southwick,  Samuel  S. 
Fowler;  Springfield,  George  Ashmun,  AVilliam  Cadwell,  Francis 

(      134      ) 


CIVIL  LIST 

M.  Carew,  AVilliam  D\vight,  Silas  iNIosman ;  Tolland,  Chester 
Chapman;  Wales,  Luther  Parker;  Westfield,  Jonah  L.  Gross, 
David  Moseley:  West  Spring-field,  Riifiis  S.  Payne,  Lester  Wil- 
liams ;  Wilbraham,  John  Newell. 

1842— Blandford,  AVatson  E.  Boise;  Brimfield,  no  choice; 
Chester,  Xored  Elder ;  Granville,  James  Root ;  Holland,  Willard 
Weld ;  Longmeadow,  Ethan  Taylor ;  Ludlow,  Dennis  Knowlton ; 
Monson,  none ;  Montgomery,  Noah  Sheldon;  Palmer,  John  Ward; 
Russell,  John  Dickinson;  Southwick,  Phineas  W.  Stevens; 
Springfield,  none ;  Tolland,  Oliver  E,  Slocum ;  Wales,  voted  not 
to  send ;  West  Springfield,  Jonah  L.  Gross,  David  Moseley ;  Wil- 
braham, Marcius  Cady. 

18-43— Blandford,  Edwin  Ely;  Brimfield,  Augustus 
Wheeler;  Chester,  Nored  Elder;  Granville,  William  C.  Dunham; 
Holland,  none;  Longmeadow,  Ethan  Taylor;  Ludlow,  Dennis 
Knowlton ;  Monson,  William  Puffer ;  Montgomery,  Charles  C. 
Bell;  Palmer,  Abel  Calkins;  Russell,  Daniel  Fiye;  Southwick, 
Elisha  Booth;  Springfield,  none;  Tolland,  Aurelius  Fowler; 
AVales,  James  Foskit;  AVestfield,  Norman  T.  Leonard,  Dennis 
Hedge;  West  Springfield,  Aaron  Bagg,  Lucien  M.  Ufford;  Wil- 
braham, John  Carpenter. 

1844— Blandford,  Leverett  Sackett ;  Brimfield,  none;  Ches- 
ter, Hector  Campbell ;  Granville,  Henry  Clark ;  Holland,  none ; 
Longmeadow,  Calvin  Burt ;  Ludlow,  Dennis  Knowlton ;  Monson, 
none;  Montgomery,  Amos  S.  Wheeler;  Palmer,  Gilbert  Barber; 
Russell,  Jere  W.  Bishop ;  Southwick,  Gideon  Stiles ;  Springfield, 
Harvey  Danks;  Tolland,  none;  Wales,  Cornelius  Miller;  West- 
field,  S.  R.  B.  Lewis,  Georg-e  Sackett;  West  Springfield,  Isaac 
Roberts,  Asa  Clark ;  Wilbraham,  Samuel  Beebe. 

1845— Blandford,  Sharon  Bradley;  Brimfield,  Orson  Sher- 
man ;  Chester,  Hector  Campbell ;  Granville,  none  ;  Tolland,  none  ; 
Longmeadow,  Jacob  Colton,  jr.;  Ludlow,  Artemas  H.  AVhitney; 
Monson,  Sanmel  AVhitney :  Montgomery,  none ;  Palmer,  Alonzo 
V.  Blanchard;  Russell,  Frederic  Sackett;  Southwick,  Chandler 
Holcomb  ;  Springfield,  Edmund  Freeman ;  Tolland,  none ;  Wales, 
none;  AA^estfield,  Hiram  Harrison,  Oliver  Moseley;  AVest  Spring- 
field, none ;  AVilbraham,  none. 

(      135      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

1846— Blandford,  Vincent  S.  Bradley;  Brimfield,  George 
Puffer;  Chester,  none;  Granville,  Levi  Brown;  Holland,  none; 
Longmeadow,  Lorin  Burt ;  Ludlow,  Artemus  H.  Whitney ;  Mon- 
son,  none ;  Alontgomery,  none ;  Palmer,  Lambert  Allen ;  Russell, 
Newman  Bishop,  jr. ;  Southwick,  none;  Springfield,  Walter  War- 
riner.  Henry  Morris,  Joseph  B.  McCune,  George  Dwight,  Rob- 
ert G.  Marsh:  Tolland,  none;  Wales,  Absalom  Gardner;  AVest- 
field,  Hiram  Fox,  Chauncey  Coltou ;  West  Springfield,  none ; 
Wilbraham,  none. 

1847 — Blandford,  none;  Brimfield,  none;  Chester,  none: 
Granville,  Joseph  F.  Miner ;  Holland,  Elbridge  G.  Fuller :  Long- 
meadoAV,  Loren  Burt :  Ludlow,  Artemus  H.  AVhitney :  Monson, 
none;  Montgomery,  none;  Palmer,  Alonzo  V.  Blanchard:  Russell, 
none;  Southwick,  Almon  H.  Barker;  Springfield,  Henry  Morris, 
Walter  Warriner,  George  Dwight,  Timothy  W.  Carter,  Alfred 
White ;  Tolland,  none :  AVales,  none :  AVestfield,  Hiram  A.  Beebe, 
Royal  Fowler;  West  Springfield,  Edward  Parsons,  Hervey 
Cliapin ;  Wilbraham,  none. 

1848— Blandford,  none  ;  Brimfield,  Alured  Homer  ;  Chester, 
none;  Granville,  Carlos  Gibbons;  Holland,  none;  Longmeadow, 
Alford  Cooley:  Ludlow,  Eli  M.  Smith:  Monson,  William  N. 
Flynt ;  Montgomery,  none ;  Palmer,  Calvin  Torrey :  Russell, 
none;  Southwick,  Eli  L.  Morse;  Springfield,  William  DAvight, 
Timothy  W.  Carter,  Titus  Amidon,  Joseph  D.  Decreet,  Silas 
Mosman,  jr.;  Tolland,  Henry  A.  Bills;  Wales,  none;  Westfield, 
Israel  Sackett,  Josiah  S.  Knowles ;  West  Springfield,  none ;  Wil- 
braham, John  Smith. 

1849-Blandford,  Amos  G.  Bowker;  Brimfield,  Philip  G. 
Hubbard ;  Chester,  none ;  Chicopee,  none ;  Granville,  William 
Hall ;  Holland,  none ;  Longmeadow,  Alford  Cooley :  Ludlow,  Alva 
Sikes ;  Monson,  none ;  Montgomery,  Elisha  P.  Parks :  Palmer, 
Jacob  B.  Merrick ;  Russell,  none ;  Southwick,  none :  Springfield, 
Frederick  A.  Barton,  Lester  Dickinson,  Joseph  C.  Pynchon,  Wil- 
liam Stowe,  John  Wells ;  Tolland,  none :  Wales,  none ;  Westfield, 
Daniel  D.  Erving,  Hiram  Hull ;  West  Springfield,  Lyman  Allen, 
Daniel  G.  White ;  Wilbraham,  none. 

1850— Blandford,  Albert  Knox;  Brimfield,  none;  Chester, 
William  Campbell;  Chicopee,  none;  Granville,  Charles  F.  Bates; 

(      130      ) 


CIVIL  LIST 

Holland,  none  ;  Holyoke,  none ;  Longmeadow,  Burgess  Salisbury ; 
Ludlow,  none ;  Monson,  none ;  IMontgomery,  none :  Palmer,  John 
D.  Blanchard ;  Russell,  Gardner  S.  Burbank ;  Southwick,  Carmi 
Shurtleff :  Springfield,  Thomas  J.  Shepard,  "William  W.  Boying- 
ton,  Lester  Dickinson ;  Tolland,  none ;  Wales,  none ;  Westfield, 
Matthew  Ives,  George  H.  IMosely:  West  Springfield,  Lester  Wil- 
liams; Wilbraham,  none. 

1851— Blandford,  Justin  Wilson;  Brimfield,  none;  Chester, 
Aurelius  C.  Root:  Chieopee,  Giles  S.  Chapin,  Alpheus  Nettleton, 
John  Wells ;  Granville,  Vincent  Holeomb ;  Holland,  none ;  Hol- 
yoke, Alexander  Day ;  Longmeadow,  Burgess  Salisbury ;  Ludlow, 
none;  Monson,  none;  Montgomeiy,  William  Squier;  Palmer. 
Joseph  Brown  2d :  Russell,  Roland  Parks ;  SoutliAvick,  John  Hol- 
eomb ;  Springfield,  Henry  Adams,  John  INIills,  Edward  F.  Mose- 
ley,  Thomas  AV.  Mason :  Tolland,  William  E.  Barnes ;  Wales,  Ash- 
ley Squier :  Westfield,  James  Noble ;  West  Springfield,  Daniel  G. 
AYhite;  Wilbraham,  Roderick  S.  Merrick. 

1852— Blandford,  Chauneey  S.  Brown;  Brimfield,  John 
Prouty:  Chester,  Samuel  Henry;  Chieopee,  Jonathan  R.  Childs, 
James  K.  Fletcher,  Alpheus  Nettleton;  Granville,  AVilliam  W. 
Bacon ;  Holland,  none :  Holyoke,  George  C.  Ewing ;  Long- 
meadow, Dimond  Colton  ;  Ludlow,  none;  Monson,  Rufus  S.  Fay; 
Montgomery,  none;  Palmer,  Amos  C.  Billings;  Russell,  Henry 
K.  Loomis:  Southwick,  Abel  Steer;  Springfield,  Titus  Amadon, 
Ephraim  W.  Bond,  Joel  Brown,  Andrew  Huntington :  Tolland, 
none :  Wales,  Warren  Shaw ;  Westfield,  James  Holland ;  West 
Springfield,  Harvey  Wolcott ;  Wilbraham,  Solomon  C.  Spellman. 

1853-Blandford,  William  B.  Miller:  Brimfield,  none;  Ches- 
ter, Daniel  Fry ;  Chieopee,  Edmund  B.  Haskell,  Charles  R.  Ladd, 
Samuel  A.  Shackford:  Granville,  Horace  H.  Parsons;  Holland, 
Harris  Cutler ;  Holyoke,  none :  Longmeadow,  Dimond  Colton ; 
Ludlow,  none :  Monson,  none :  Montgomery,  Aaron  P.  Parks ; 
Palmer,  Enos  Calkins :  Russell,  Nelson  D.  Parks :  Southwick, 
Moses  White :  Spring-field,  George  Bliss,  Theodore  Stebbins,  Nel- 
son Tyler :  Tolland,  none ;  Wales,  Jonathan  G.  Royce ;  Westfield, 
Luke  Bush ;  West  Springfield,  Edward  Southworth,  Wilbraham, 
none. 

(      137      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

185-1— Blaiidford,  Samuel  E.  Lloyd;  Brimfield,  Henry  F. 
BroAvn ;  Chester,  Kliziir  D.  Cook  :  Chicopee,  Charles  R.  Ladd, 
Loman  A.  Moody,  Samuel  A.  Shackford ;  (xraiiville,  none ;  Hol- 
land, William  A.  AVebber ;  Holyoke,  none ;  Longmeadow,  Oliver 
Dwight ;  Ludlow,  John  P.  Hubbard;  Monson,  AVilliam  H.  Brad- 
way;  Montgomery,  none;  Palmer,  Cilbert  Barker;  Russell,  none; 
Southwick,  Hiram  S.  Hollister ;  Springfield,  none ;  Tolland,  Hi- 
ram C.  Brown ;  Wales,  none ;  Westfield,  Henry  Fuller ;  AVest 
Springfield,  Edward  Southworth ;  Wilbraham,  Philip  P.  Potter. 

1855— Agawam,  none;  Blandford,  none;  Brimfield,  Paul  AV. 
Paige ;  Chester,  Otis  Taylor ;  Chicopee,  Guy  Davenport,  Loman 
A.  Aloody,  Erastus  Stebbins;  Granville,  James  P.  Cooley;  Hol- 
land, none;  Holyoke,  Arba  C.  Slater;  LongmeadoAv,  Rial  Strick- 
land; Ludlow,  Jere  Miller;  Monson,  Nelson  T.  Rogers;  Montgom- 
ery, none;  Palmer,  Elijah  G.  Alurdock  ;  Russell,  none  ;  Southwick, 
Heman  Laflin ;  Springfield,  AVilliam  Bodortha,  Alanson  Hawley, 
AVm.  Foster,  Thomas  AV.  Mason ;  Tolland,  Hiram  C.  Brown ; 
AVales,  Eli.jah  Shaw ;  AA^estfield,  Derrick  N.  Goff ;  AVest  Spring- 
field, Samuel  D.  AA^arriner ;  AVilbraham,  John  AV.  Langdon. 

1856— Agawam,  none;  Blandford,  Ralsa  Taggart;  Brimfield, 
Alfred  ]\L  Converse ;  Chester,  none ;  Chicopee,  Sylvester  Allen, 
Jonathan  Jones,  John  H.  Smith  ;  Granville,  none ;  Holland,  none ; 
Holyoke,  Joshua  Gray;  Longmeadow,  Stephen  T.  Colton;  Lud- 
low, Elisha  T.  Parsons;  Monson,  V^'illiam  B.  Converse;  Mont- 
gomery, none;  Palmer,  Alonzo  N.  Dewey;  Russell,  none;  South- 
Avick,  none;  Springfield,  Horatio  N.  Case,  AVilliam  Grossman, 
AVillis  Phelps,  Henry  Pomeroy ;  Tolland,  none ;  AVales,  none ; 
AVestfield,  Nathaniel  Chapin ;  AVest  Springfield,  Jonathan  AV. 
Freeland ;  AVilbraham,  John  Baldwin. 

1857— Agawam,  none ;  Blandford,  James  C.  Hinsdale  ;  Brim- 
field, Oilman  Noyes ;  Chester,  Samuel  Stebbins ;  Chicopee,  LeA\is 
M.  Ferry,  John  H.  Smith  John  AVells ;  Granville,  none ;  Holland, 
none;  Holyoke,  Alfred  AVhite ;  Longmeadow,  Stephen  T.  Col- 
ton ;  Ludlow,  Elisha  T.  Parsons;  Alonson,  Albert  Norcross;  Alont- 
gomery,  none;  Palmer,  Sylvanus  G.  Shaw-;  Russell,  none;  South- 
Avick.  none ;  Springfield,  John  H.  Fuller,  Daniel  L,  Harris, 
Eliphalet  Trask,  Henry  Vose  ;  Tolland,  none  ;  AVales,  none  ;  AVest- 

(      138      ) 


CIVIL  LIST 

field,  James  Holland;  West  Springfield,  Jonathan  0.  Mosely; 
Wilbrahani,  John  B.  Morris. 

1858— 1st  District  (Brimfield,  Monson,  Holland,  Wales), 
John  W.  Foster  of  Monson;  2d  district  (Palmer),  Solomon  A. 
Fay  of  Palmer;  3d  district  (Wilbraham,  Longmeadow),  Rod- 
erick Burt  of  Wilbraham ;  4th  district  (Springfield,  wards  1  and 
2),  Marvin  Chapin  of  Springfield;  5th  district  (wards  3  and  4), 
Henry  Vose ;  6th  district  (wards  5,  6,  7,  8),  Hiram  Q.  Sanderson 
of  Springfield;  7th  district  (Chicopee,  Ludlow),  George  H.  Chap- 
man, James  Reuny,  both  of  Chicopee;  8th  district  (Holyoke, 
West  Springfield),  Elbridge  G.  Pierce  of  Holyoke;  9th  district 
(Agawam,  Southwick,  Granville),  Andrew  J.  Marvin  of  South- 
wick;  10th  district  (Westfield),  George  Green;  11th  district, 
(Chester,  Blandford,  Montgomery,  Tolland,  Russell),  Charles 
W.  Knox  of  Chester. 

1859— 1st  dist.,  Paul  W.  Paige  of  Brimfield  ;  2d  dist.,  Henry 
Seism  of  Palmer;  3d  dist.,  Randolph  Stebbins  of  Longmeadow; 
4th  dist.,  Joseph  Stone  of  Springfield ;  5th  dist.,  Philo  F.  Wil- 
cox of  Springfield;  6th  dist.,  Otis  A.  Seamans  of  Springfield;  7th 
dist.,  George  M.  Stearns  of  Chicopee  and  Albert  Fuller  of  Lud- 
loAv ;  8th  dist.,  George  L.  Wright  of  West  Springfield ;  9th  dist., 
Elisha  T.  Miner  of  Granville ;  10th  dist.,  Addison  Gage  of  West- 
field  ;  11th  dist.,  David  Cannon  of  Chester. 

1860— 1st  dist.,  David  F.  Parker  of  Wales;  2d  dist.,  John 
Clough  of  Palmer ;  3d  dist.,  W^illiam  P.  Spellman  of  Wilbraham ; 
4th  dist.,  Richard  Bliss  of  Springfield;  5th  dist.,  Daniel  Gay  of 
Springfield ;  6th  dist.,  Ezra  Kimberly  of  Springfield ;  7th  dist., 
Joseph  B.  McCune  and  George  S.  Taylor  of  Chicopee ;  8th  dist., 
William  B.  C.  Pearsons  of  Holyoke ;  9th  dist.,  James  H,  Ferre  of 
Agawam;  10th  dist.,  Jasper  Raymond  Rand  of  Westfield;  11th 
dist.,  Addison  M.  Bradley  of  Russell. 

1861  — 1st  dist.,  William  N.  Flynt  of  Monson;  2d  dist.,  Solo- 
mon R.  LaAvrence  of  Palmer;  3d  dist.,  Roderick  H.  Burnham  of 
Longmeadow ;  4th  dist.,  William  B.  Calhoun  of  Springfield ;  5th 
dist.,  Simeon  Newell  of  Springfield ;  6th  dist.,  Oliver  B.  Bannon 
of  Springfield ;  7th  dist.,  George  S.  Taylor,  James  M.  Smith  of 
Chicopee ;  8th  dist.,  Nathan  Loomis  of  West  Springfield  ;  9th  dist., 

(      139      ) 


OVB  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

Theron  Rockwell  of  Southwick:  10th  dist.,  David  INI.  Chace  of 
ATestfield ;  11th  dist.,  Samuel  Hamilton  of  Tolland. 

1862— 1st  dist.,  William  A.  Bobbins  of  Holland;  2d  dist., 
Stephen  G.Newton  of  Palmer;  3d  dist.,  Joseph  MeGregory  of  Wil- 
braham :  4th  dist.,  Theodore  Stebbins,  died,  succeeded  by  AVilliam 
B.  Calhoun  of  Springfield ;  5th  dist.,  William  L.  Smith  of  Spring- 
field :  6th  dist.,  Nathaniel  Howard  of  Springfield;  7th  dist., 
Phineas  Stedman  of  Chicopee,  Hezekiah  Root  of  Ludlow;  8th 
dist.,  Thomas  H.  Kelt  of  Holyoke ;  9th  dist.,  Reuben  De  Witt  of 
Agawam ;  10th  dist.,  Lewis  Rufus  Norton  of  Westfield ;  11th  dist., 
Edward  M.  Taylor  of  INIontgomery, 

1863— 1st  dist.,  Newton  S.  Hubbard  of  Brimfield;  2d  dist., 
James  S.  Loomis  of  Palmer ;  3d  dist.,  Luther  Markham  of  Long- 
meadow:  4th  dist.,  Eliphalet  Trask  of  Springfield;  5th  dist., 
Daniel  L.  Harris  of  Springfield ;  6th  dist.,  Harvey  E.  Moseley  of 
Springfield;  7th  dist.,  James  M.  Smith,  AA^'illiam  Thayer  of  Chico- 
pee;  8th  dist.,  Richard  Pettee  of  Holyoke;  9th  dist.,  Samuel 
Flower  of  Agawam ;  10th  dist.,  Henry  J.  Bush  of  Westfield ;  11th 
dist.,  William  M.  Lewis  of  Blandford. 

1864— 1st  dist.,  Timothy  F.  Packard  of  IMonson :  2d  dist., 
Jacob  Stever  of  Palmer;  3d  dist.,  Walter  Hitchcock  of  Wilbra- 
ham;  4th  dist.,  Warren  C.  Sturtevant  of  Springfield;  5th  dist., 
Daniel  L.  Harris  of  Springfield;  6th  dist.,  Titus  Amadou  of 
Springfield;  7th  dist.,  INIoses  W.  Chapin  and  Lafayette  Temple 
of  Chicopee :  8th  dist.,  Nathan  Loomis  of  West  Springfield ;  9th 
dist.,  John  Boyle  of  Southwick:  10th  dist.,  Thomas  Kneil  of 
Westfield :  11th  dist.,  Roland  Parks  of  Russell. 

1865— 1st  dist.,  Elijah  Shaw  of  AVales  ;  2d  dist.,  David  Knox 
of  Palmer;  3d  dist.,  D.  Erskine  Burbank  of  Longmeadow;  4th 
dist.,  Horace  J.  Chapin  of  Springfield ;  5th  dist.,  Charles  A.  Win- 
chester of  Springfield :  6th  dist.,  Lewis  H.  Taylor  of  Springfield : 
7th  dist,  John  Wells  of  Chicopee  and  Jacob  S.  Eaton  of  Ludlow : 
8th  dist...  Simeon  Miller  of  Holyoke  :  9th  dist.,  Cyrus  Bell  of  Aga- 
wam ;  10th  dist.,  Henry  J.  Bush  of  AYestfield :  11th  dist.,  Jarvis 
W.  Gibbs  of  Russell. 

1866— 1st  dist.,  James  B.  Brown  of  Brimfield;  2d  dist.,  Eph- 
raim G.Bates  of  Palmer ; 3d  dist.,  John  M.  Merrick  of  Wilbraham ; 

(      140      ) 


CIVIL  LIST 

•1th  dist.,  Horace  J.  Chapiu  of  Spriiigrtield ;  5th  dist.,  Charles  A. 
Winchester  of  Springfield ;  6th  dist.,  Pliny  Wood  of  Springfield  ; 
7th  dist.,  Emerson  Gaylord,  George  H.  Knapp  of  Chicopee;  8th 
dist.,  Justin  L.  Worthy  of  AVest  Springfield ;  9th  dist.,  Edward 
K.  Bordotha  of  Agawam ;  10th  dist.,  James  G.  Gladwin  of  AYest- 
field ;  11th  dist.,  Elizur  D.  Moore  of  Tolland. 

1867 — 1st  dist.,  George  A.  Converse  of  Alonson ;  2d  dist., 
James  G.  Allen  of  Palmer ;  3d  dist.,  B.  C.  English,  Thomas  W. 
AA^ason  of  Springfield ;  4th  dist.,  Daniel  L.  Harris  of  Springfield ; 
5th  dist.,  Titus  Amadon  of  Springfield ;  6th  dist.,  Edwin  H.  Ball 
of  Holyoke  and  Enoch  V.  B.  Holcomb  of  Chicopee ;  7th  dist., 
Abel  H.  Calkins  of  Longnieadow  and  Joseph  Bedortha  of  Aga- 
Avam ;  8th  dist.,  Charles  Dickerman  of  AA^estfield ;  9th  dist.,  Beri- 
jah  H.  Kagwin  of  ]\Iontgomery. 

1868— 1st  dist.,  Joel  B.  AVilliams  of  Monson ;  2d  dist.,  Wil- 
liam R.  Sessions  of  AA'ilbraham ;  3d  dist.,  Charles  L.  Shaw  and 
Tilly  Haynes  of  Springfield ;  4th  dist.,  George  Walker  of  Spring- 
field ;  5th  dist.,  John  Severson  of  Springfield ;  6th  dist.,  Edwin 
H.  Snow  of  Chicopee  and  Ezra  H.  Flagg  of  Holyoke ;  7th  dist., 
Ralph  S.  Brown  of  Granville  and  Charles  A.  Fox  of  West  Spring- 
field ;  8th  dist.,  AA'illiam  G.  Bates  of  AA^estfield ;  9th  dist.,  Thad- 
deiis  K.  De  AA^olf  of  Chester. 

1869— 1st  dist.,  Ferdinand  L.  Braley  of  Wales;  2d  dist., 
Joseph  Vaill,  died  and  succeeded  by  Lyman  Dimock  of  Palmer ; 
3d  dist.,  Tilly  Haynes  and  Emerson  AVright  of  Springfield ;  4th 
dist.,  Horace  Smith  of  Springfield ;  5th  dist.,  AA'^illiam  AA^.  Ama- 
don of  Springfield;  6th  dist.,  S.  H.  AA^alker  of  Holyoke  and 
Jerome  AVells  of  Chicopee ;  7th  dist.,  AA^illiam  Alelcher  of  AA^est 
Springfield  and  Edwin  Gilbert  of  South\\dck ;  8th  dist.,  Samuel 
Horton  of  AA^estfield ;  9th  dist.,  Franklin  C.  Knox  of  Blandford. 

1870— 1st  dist.,  Samuel  AA^  Brown  of  Brimfield  ;  2d  dist.,  Ira 
G.  Potter  of  Wilbraham ;  3d  dist.,  Emerson  Wright  and  Justin 
M.  Cooley  of  Springfield ;  4th  dist.,  Daniel  L.  Harris  of  Spring- 
field ;  5th  dist.,  David  Powers  of  Springfield ;  6th  dist.,  Lewis  M. 
Ferris  of  Chicopee  and  Henry  A.  Pratt  of  Holyoke;  7th  dist., 
Lester  AA^illiams  of  AVest  Springfield  and  Larone  Hills  of  Long- 
meadow  ;  8th  dist.,  Samuel  Horton  of  W^estfield ;  9th  dist..  Dex- 
ter Parks  of  Russell. 

(      141      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

1871  — 1st  dist.,  George  L.  AVebber  of  Holland;  2d  dist., 
Ebenezer  Brown  of  Palmer ;  3d  dist.,  Emerson  Wright  and  Jus- 
tin M.  Cooley  of  Springfield :  4tli  dist.,  Gurdon  Bill  of  Spring- 
field ;  5th  dist.,  Joseph  M.  Hall  of  Springfield :  6th  dist.,  Charles 
A.  Corser  of  Holyoke  and  Henry  H.  Harris  of  Chicopee ;  7th  dist., 
G.  C.  S.  Southworth  of  AYest  Springfield  and  Silas  Noble  of  Gran- 
ville :  8th  dist.,  Alexander  MeKenzie  of  Westfield :  9th  dist.,  La- 
fayette Granger  of  Tolland. 

1872— 1st  dist..  Rice  S.  Mnnn  of  Monson ;  2d  dist.,  Ephraim 
Allen  of  Wilbraham ;  3d  dist..  James  Parker  and  John  W.  Phelps 
of  Springfield ;  4th  dist.,  W.  C.  Sturtevant  of  Springfield ;  5th 
dist.,  C.  C.  Merritt  of  Springfield ;  6th  dist.,  George  Arms  of 
Chicopee  (resigned,  succeeded  by  Roswell  P.  Crafts)  and  Reuben 
Sikes  of  Ludlow ;  7th  dist.,  Ralph  Perry  of  Agawam  and  Ansel 
H.  Ward  of  West  Springfield :  8th  dist.,  Lewis  R.  Norton  of  West- 
field  ;  9th  dist.,  Timothy  Keefe  of  Chester. 

1873— 1st  dist.,  Thomas  J.  Morgan  of  Brimfield;  2d  dist., 
James  B.  Shaw  of  Palmer:  3d  dist.,  Charles  R.  Ladcl  and  H.  M. 
French  of  Springfield :  4th  dist.,  A.  L.  Soule  of  Springfield ;  5th 
dist.,  Henry  W.  Phelps  of  Springfield ;  6th  dist.,  Edward  W. 
Chapin  of  Holyoke  and  William  R.  Kentfield  of  Chicopee;  7th 
dist.,  Oliver  Woleott  of  Longmeadow  and  Aaron  Bagg  of  West 
Springfield;  8th  dist.,  Lewis  R.  Norton  of  Westfield;  9th  dist.. 
Francis  W.  Clark  of  Montgomery. 

1874— 1st  dist.,  Julius  M.  Lyon  of  Wales:  2d  dist.,  Francis 
E.  Clark  of  Wilbraham;  3d  dist.,  E.  E.  Gray  and  Charles  L. 
Shaw  of  Springfield ;  4th  dist..  Smith  R.  Phillips  of  Springfield : 
5th  dist.,  Henry  W.  Phelps  of  Springfield ;  6th  dist.,  George  D. 
Robinson  of  Chicopee  and  Allen  Higginbottom  of  Holyoke ;  7th 
dist.,  E.  H.  Seymour  and  Rufus  Smith  of  Granville;  8th  dist., 
Reuben  Noble  of  Westfield :  9th  dist.,  Enos  W.  Boise  of  Bland- 
ford. 

1875— 1st  dist.,  Daniel  G.  Green  of  Monson;  2d  dist., 
Charles  L.  Gardner  of  Palmer;  3d  dist.,  Charles  L.  ShaAV  and  T. 
D.  Beach  of  Springfield ;  4th  dist.,  James  Abbe  of  Springfield : 
5th  dist.,  Alfred  M.  Copeland  of  Springfield ;  6th  dist.,  Jacob  W. 
Davis  of  Holyoke  and  S.  A.  Jacobs  of  Chicopee :  7th  dist.,  Emer- 

(      142      ) 


CIVIL  LIST 

son  Geer  of  West  Spring-field  and  Samuel  Flower  of  Agawam ; 
8th  dist.,  Reuben  Noble  of  Westfield ;  9th  dist.,  Edward  E.  Gibbs 
of  Russell. 

1876— 1st  dist.,  Rice  M.  Reynolds  of  Monson;  2d  dist., 
Charles  L.  Gardner  of  Palmer ;  3d  dist.,  Stephen  E.  Seymour  and 
Charles  W.  Richards  of  Springfield ;  4th  dist.,  James  Abbe  of 
Springfield;  5th  dist.,  Chris.  C.  Merritt  of  Springfield;  6th  dist., 
Edwin  L.  Kirtland  of  Holyoke  and  Charles  A.  Taylor  of  Chico- 
pee ;  7th  dist.,  John  j\I.  Gibbs  of  Granville  and  Thomas  F.  Cordis 
of  Longmeadow ;  8th  dist.,  Reuben  Noble  of  Westfield ;  9th  dist., 
George  W.  Granger  of  Tolland. 

1877— 1st  dist..  Rice  M.  Reynolds  of  Monson;  2d  dist.,  Hor- 
ace M.  Sessions  of  Wilbraham ;  3d  dist.,  AVarren  S.  Bragg  of  Chic- 
opee :  4th  dist.,  Charles  W.  Richards  and  Ephraim  A.  Perkins  of 
Springfield ;  5th  dist.,  Leonard  Clark  of  Springfield ;  6th  dist., 
Theodore  AV.  Ellis  of  Springfield;  7th  dist.,  John  C.  Perry  of 
Spring-field ;  8th  dist.,  John  H.  Wright  of  Holyoke ;  9th  dist., 
James  H.  Newton  of  Holyoke;  10th  dist.,  Francis  S.  Eggleston 
of  "Westfield  and  Stephen  H.  Bodurtha  of  Agawam;  11th  dist., 
George  N.  Cone  of  Chester. 

1878— 1st  dist.,  Pliny  F.  Spaulding  of  Brimfield ;  2d  dist, 
Timothy  D.  Potter  of  Palmer ;  3d  dist.,  James  P.  Kelly  of  Chico- 
pee ;  4th  dist.,  William  Pynchon  and  Theodore  Beach  of  Spring- 
field ;  5th  dist.,  Leonard  Clark  of  Springfield ;  6th  dist.,  Rawson 
Hathaway  of  Springfield ;  7th  dist.,  Marcus  P.  Knowiton  of 
Springfield;  8th  dist.,  John  H.  Wright  of  Holyoke;  9th  dist.,  E. 
P.  Bartholomew  of  West  Springfield:  10th  dist.,  Joseph  G.  Noble 
of  Westfield  and  Henry  S.  Stiles  of  Montgomery ;  11th  dist.,  Ed- 
win Gilbert  of  Southwick. 

1879— 1st  dist.,  William  J.  Ricketts  of  Monson;  2d  dist., 
Benjamin  F.  Burr  of  Ludlow;  3d  dist.,  Frank  M.  Horton  of 
Chicopee ;  4th  dist.,  AVilliam  Pynchon  and  Jonathan  E.  Shipman 
of  Springfield ;  5th  dist.,  Charles  R.  Ladd  of  Springfield ;  6th 
dist.,  Eleazer  S.  Beebe  of  Longmeadow ;  7th  dist.,  Elisha  B.  May- 
nard  of  Springfield;  8th  dist.,  Thomas  L.  Keough  of  Holyoke; 
9th  dist.,  Joseph  Murray  of  Holyoke ;  10th  dist.,  Merritt  J.  Van 
Deusen  and  James  H.  Bryan  of  AVestfield ;  11th  dist.,  Ethan  D. 
Dickinson  of  Granville. 

(      U3      ) 


OVB  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

1880— 1st  dist.,  John  C.  Burley  of  Wales;  2d  dist.,  Joseph 
F.  Holbrook  of  Palmer;  3d  dist.,  Dwight  L.  Shaw  of  Chicopee ; 
4th  dist.,  Hinsdale  Smith  and  Jonathan  E.  Shipman  of  Spring- 
field ;  5th  dist.,  Edwin  D,  Metcalf  of  Springfield  ;  6th  dist.,  Henry 
M.  Phillips  of  Springfield  ;  7th  dist.,  C.  C.  Merritt  of  Springfield ; 
8th  dist.,  jNlichael  J.  Teahan  of  Holyoke ;  9th  dist.,  John  Delaney 
of  Holyoke ;  10th  dist.,  Merritt  Van  Deusen  of  Westfield  and  J. 
Henry  Chnrehill  of  Agawam ;  11th  dist.,  Samuel  A.  Bartholmew 
of  Blandford. 

1881— 1st  dist.,  Solomon  F.  Ciishman  of  Monson;  2d  dist., 
Channeey  E.  Peck  of  Wilbraham ;  3d  dist.,  John  Goodwin  of 
Chicopee ;  4th  dist.,  Josiah  Bumstead  and  Hubert  M.  Coney  of 
Springfield ;  5th  dist.,  Edwin  D.  Metcalf  of  Springfield ;  6th  dist., 
Henry  M.  Phillips  of  Springfield ;  7th  dist.,  Chris.  C.  Merritt  of 
Springfield ;  8th  dist.,  John  H.  Wright  of  Holyoke  ;  9th  dist..  Ash- 
ton  E.  Hemphill  of  Holyoke;  10th  dist.,  Edward  C.  Carpenter 
and  John  W.  Colton  of  AVestfield ;  11th  dist.,  George  F.  Bryant 
of  Russell. 

1882— 1st  dist.,  William  L.  Webber  of  Holland;  2d  dist., 
\Yilliam  Holbrook  of  Palmer;  3d  dist.,  Frank  H.  Morton  of 
Chicopee;  4th  dist.,  Theodore  D.  Beach  and  AVilson  Eddy  of 
Springfield;  5th  dist.,  George  P.  Stebbins  of  Springfield;  6th 
dist.,  Joseph  Scott  of  Springfield ;  7th  dist.,  John  L.  Rice,  re- 
signed and  succeeded  by  Edward  H.  Lathrop  of  Springfield;  8th 
dist.,  John  H.  Wright  of  Holyoke;  9th  dist.,  Isaac  B.  LoAvell  of 
West  Springfield ;  10th  dist.,  Edward  C.  Carpenter  and  John  W. 
Colton  of  Westfield ;  11th  dist.,  Homer  P.  Twining  of  Tolland. 

1883— 1st  dist,  Solomon  F.  Cushman  of  Monson;  2d  dist., 
AVarren  D.  Fuller  of  Ludlow ;  3d  dist.,  Ansel  F.  AVildes  of  Chico- 
pee ;  4th  dist.,  John  Olmstead  and  Theodore  D.  Beach  of  Spring- 
field ;  5th  dist.,  John  B.  Stebbins  of  Springfield  ;  6th  dist.,  Charles 
F.  Newell  of  Longmeadow ;  7th  dist.,  Charles  Fuller  of  Spring- 
field ;  8th  dist.,  Jeremiah  J.  Donahue,  deceased  and  succeeded  by 
John  H.  Wright  of  Holyoke;  9th  dist.,  A,  Higginbottom  of  Hol- 
yoke; 10th  dist.,  AVilliam  H.  Whitney  of  AVestfield  and  Ed^Ain 
Leonard  2d  of  Agawam ;  11th  dist.,  Charles  H.  Knox  of  Chester. 

1884— 1st  dist.,  Lucius  A.  Cutler  of  Brimfield ;  2d  dist.,  Oren 
B.  Smith  of  Palmer ;  3d  dist.,  Erastus  Stebbins  of  Chicopee ;  4th 

(      144      ) 


CIVIL  LIST 

clist.,  Charles  W.  Kichards  and  Frank  E.  Carpenter  of  Spring- 
field ;  5th  dist.,  Frank  E.  Winter  of  Springfield ;  6th  dist.,  Ed- 
mmid  P.  Kendriek  of  Springfield ;  7th  dist.,  Nathaniel  Howard 
of  Springfield ;  8th  dist.,  John  H.  Wright  of  Holyoke ;  9th  dist., 
Wilbert  T.  Dean  of  Holyoke ;  10th  dist.,  Charles  N.  Oakes  and 
Eber  A.  Eggleston  of  Westfield ;  11th  dist.,  Edwin  Gilbert  of 
Southwick. 

1885— 1st  dist.,  Wilson  M.  Tucker  of  Monson ;  2d  dist., 
Moses  H.  Warren  of  Hampden ;  3d  dist.,  Matthew  Ryan  of  Chico- 
pee ;  4th  dist.,  Charles  AV.  Richards  and  Charles  C.  Smith  of 
Springfield ;  5th  dist,  William  F.  Cook  of  Springfield ;  6th  dist., 
Edmund  P.  Kendriek  of  Springfield ;  7th  dist.,  Edwin  S.  Stacy 
of  Springfield ;  8th  dist.,  John  H.  Wright  of  Holj-oke ;  9th  dist., 
Ashton  E.  Hemphill  of  Holyoke ;  10th  dist.,  Charles  N.  Oakes  and 
Eber  A.  Eggleston  of  AVestfield ;  11th  dist.,  Marshall  V.  Stowe  of 
Granville. 

1886— 1st  dist.,  Alvin  A.  Hubbard  of  Wales;  2d  dist.,  Ste- 
phen S.  Taft  of  Palmer ;  3d  dist.,  MatthcAv  Ryan  of  Chieopee ;  4th 
dist.,  Charles  C.  Smith  and  John  L.  Knight  of  Springfield;  5th 
dist,  William  F.  Cook  of  Springfield ;  6th  dist.,  John  S.  Sander- 
son of  Springfield ;  7th  dist.,  Edward  H.  Lathrop  of  Springfield ; 
8th  dist.,  Jeremiah  J.  Keane  of  Holyoke ;  9th  dist.,  Levi  Perkins 
of  Holyoke ;  10th  dist.,  William  H.  Whitney  and  William  Provin 
of  Westfield ;  11th  dist.,  Henry  K.  Herrick  of  Blandford. 

1887— 1st  dist.,  Seth  N.  Bennett  of  Agawam ;  2d  dist,  Wil- 
liam Provin  and  William  H.  Foote  of  Westfield;  3d  dist.,  Dwight 
().  Judd  of  Holyoke;  4th  dist,  Jeremiah  J.  Keane  of  Holyoke; 
5tli  dist.,  Norris  R.  AVood  of  Chieopee ;  6th  dist.,  John  L.  Knight 
and  George  W.  Miller  of  Springfield ;  7th  dist.,  Charles  C.  Spell- 
man  of  Springfield ;  8th  dist.,  Fred  A.  Judd  and  John  S.  Ander- 
son of  Springfield ;  9th  dist.,  John  Brockbank  of  Monson ;  10th 
dist,  Stephen  S.  Taft  of  Palmer. 

1888-lst  dist.,  Charles  H.  Knox  of  Chester;  2d  dist., 
Charles  Fay  Shepard  and  William  Provin  of  AVestfield ;  3d  dist., 
Reuben  AA^inchester  of  Holyoke ;  4th  dist.,  Jeremiah  J.  Keane  of 
Holyoke ;  5th  dist.,  George  AV.  Gibson  of  Chieopee ;  6th  dist,  AVil- 
liam  F.  Ferry  and  Ethan  C.  Robinson  of  Springfield ;  7th  dist., 

10-1  (      145      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

A.  Olin  Brooks  of  Springfield;  8th  dist.,  Charles  A.  Call  and 
Charles  H.  Bennett  of  Spring-field;  9th  dist.,  Henry  Clark  of 
"NYilbraham :  lOtli  dist.,  Charles  F.  Grosvenor  of  Ludlow. 

1889— 1st  dist.,  John  B.  Ripley  of  Granville:  2d  dist.,  Oren 

B.  Parks  and  Robert  B.  Crane  of  Westfield ;  3d  dist.,  John  Hil- 
dreth  of  Holyoke :  4th  dist.,  Jeremiah  J.  Keane  of  Holyoke ;  5th 
dist.,  George  D.  Eldredge  of  Chieopee;  6th  dist.,  William  F. 
Ferry  and  Hiram  B.  Lane  of  Springfield :  7th  dist.,  A.  Olin 
Brooks  of  Springfield :  8th  dist.,  Charles  A.  Call  and  Charles  H. 
Bennett  of  Springfield ;  9th  dist.,  Lurin  J.  Potter  of  Long- 
meadow  ;  10th  dist.,  William  W.  Leach  of  Palmer. 

1890— 1st  dist.,  DAvight  H.  Hollister  of  Southwick;  2d  dist, 
Oren  B.  Parks  and  Robert  B.  Crane  of  AVestfield ;  3d  dist.,  John 
Hildreth  of  Holyoke ;  4th  dist.,  William  P.  Buckley  of  Holyoke ; 
5th  dist.,  George  D.  Eldredge  of  Chieopee :  6th  dist.,  George  W, 
Miller  and  Hiram  B.  Lane  of  Springfield ;  7th  dist,  John  McFeth- 
ries  of  Springfield;  8th  dist.,  Herman  Buckholz  and  Charles  H. 
Bennett  of  Springfield ;  9th  dist,  Carlos  M.  Gage  of  Monson ; 
lOtli  dist.,  Horace  H.  Sanders  of  Palmer. 

1891— 1st  dist.,  James  W.  Knox  of  Blandford :  2d  dist., 
James  A.  Lakin  of  Westfield  and  Ethan  Brooks  of  West  Spring- 
field :  3d  dist.,  James  Ramage  of  Holyoke :  4th  dist.,  William  P. 
Buckley  of  Holyoke ;  5th  dist.,  Eugene  0  'Neil  of  Chieopee ;  6th 
dist,  Frederick  H.  Gillett  and  Hiram  B.  Lane  of  Springfield ; 
7th  dist,  John  ]McFethries  of  Springfield;  8th  dist.,  Herman 
Buckholz  and  Henry  S.  Dickinson  of  Springfield :  9th  dist.,  Her- 
bert A.  McFarland  of  Wales ;  lOth  dist.,  H.  E.  AY.  Clark  of 
Palmer. 

1892— 1st  dist,  Erastus  D.  Larkin  of  Tolland;  2d  dist.. 
James  A.  Lakin  and  Henry  W.  Ashley  of  Westfield ;  3d  dist., 
Richard  G.  Kilduff  of  Holyoke ;  4th  dist,  William  P.  Buckley  of 
Holyoke;  5th  dist.,  Eugene  J.  O'Neil  of  Chieopee;  6th  dist, 
Frederick  H.  Gillett  and  John  W.  Adams  of  Springfield;  7th 
dist.,  Edwin  F.  Lyford  of  Springfield:  8th  dist.,  John  A.  Dris- 
coll  and  Edward  S.  Brewer  of  Springfield;  9th  dist,  Sumner 
Smith  of  Hampden ;  10th  dist.,  Hiram  E.  W.  Clark  of  Palmer. 

1893— 1st  dist.,  William  H.  Granger  of  Agawam;  2d  dist, 
Arthur  S.  Kneil  and  Henry  W.  Ashley  of  Westfield;  3d    dist, 

(      146      ) 


CIVIL  LIST 

Frank  L.  Buck  of  Holyoke ;  4th  dist.,  Roger  P.  Donahue  of  Hol- 
yoke;  5th  dist.,  Eugene  J.  O'Neil  of  Chieopee;  6th  dist.,  Ralph 
W.  Ellis  and  John  W.  Adams  of  Springfield;  7th  dist.,  Edwin 
F.  Lyford  of  Springfield ;  8th  dist.,  Stephen  C.  Warriner  and 
Edward  S.  Brewer  of  Springfield :  9th  dist.,  Alvin  A.  Gage  of 
Monson ;  10th  dist.,  Edward  C.  Fuller  of  Ludlow. 

1894— 1st  dist.,  Clayton  D.  Smith  of  Chester;  2d  dist.,  Henry 
C.  Bliss  of  West  Springfield  and  Arthur  S.  Kneil  of  Westfield ; 
3d  dist.,  Dwight  H.  Ives  of  Holyoke ;  4th  dist.,  Eugene  Finn  of 
Holyoke ;  5th  dist.,  Alexander  Grant  of  Chieopee ;  6tli  dist., 
Henry  F.  Sampson  and  Joseph  L.  Shipley  of  Springfield ;  7th 
dist.,  Edward  S.  Bradford  of  Springfield ;  8th  dist.,  Benj.  C.  Har- 
vey and  Stephen  C.  Warriner  of  Springfield;  9th  dist.,  Jason 
Butler  of  Wilbraham ;  10th  dist.,  Henry  G.  Loomis  of  Palmer. 

1895  — 1st  dist.,  Silas  B.  Root  of  Granville;  2d  dist.,  Henry 
C.  Bliss  of  West  Springfield,  and  William  H.  Foote  of  Westfield ; 
3d  dist.,  Dwight  H.  Ives  of  Holyoke ;  4th  dist.,  John  F.  Sheehan, 
of  Holyoke:  5th  dist.,  Alexander  Grant  of  Chieopee;  6th  dist., 
Lyman  H.  Perkins  and  George  W.  Turner  of  Springfield ;  7th 
dist.,  Charles  L.  Young  of  Springfield:  8th  dist.,  Benj.  C.  Har- 
vey and  Stephen  C.  Warriner  of  Springfield ;  9th  dist.,  J.  Mar- 
shall Burt  of  East  Longmeadow ;  10th  dist.,  Horace  E.  AVallis  of 
Holland. 

1896-lst  dist.,  Calvin  S.  Miller  of  Southwick;  2d  dist.,  S. 
Augustus  Allen  and  Henry  M.  Van  Deusen  of  Westfield;  3d 
dist.,  Patrick  J.  Kennedy  of  Holyoke ;  4th  dist.,  John  F.  Sheehan 
of  Holyoke :  5th  dist.,  Henry  J.  Boyd  of  Chieopee ;  6th  dist., 
George  E.  Fuller  and  Willmore  B.  Stone  of  Springfield;  7th 
dist.,  Charles  L.  Young  of  Springfield;  8th  dist.,  Benjamin  C. 
Harvey  and  Francis  R.  Richmond  of  Springfield ;  9th  dist., 
Charles  AY.  King  of  Monson :  10th  dist.,  Thomas  W,  Kenefick  of 
Palmer. 

1897— 1st  dist.,  Thomas  W.  Kenefick  of  Palmer:  2d  dist., 
William  H.  Porter  of  Agawam :  3d  dist.,  George  F.  Fuller  and 
Willmore  B.  Stone  of  Spring-field ;  4th  dist.,  Henry  H.  Bosworth 
and  Albert  T.  Folsom  of  Springfield :  5th  dist.,  Charles  E.  Hoag 
of  Springfield  :  6th  dist.,  Henry  J.  Boyd  of  Chieopee ;  7th  dist., 

(      147      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

Thomas  J.  Dooling  and  John  F.  Sheehan  of  Holyoke ;  8th  dist., 
Patrick  J.  Kennedy  of.  Holyoke ;  9th  dist.,  Andrew  Campbell  of 
Westfield  and  Frank  P.  Sargent  of  AYest  Springfield. 

1898— 1st  dist.,  Thomas  W.  Kenefick  of  Palmer;  2d  dist., 
Arthur  D.  King  of  Ludlow ;  3d  dist.,  George  F.  Fuller  and  Will- 
more  B.  Stone  of  Springfield ;  4th  dist.,  Henry  H.  Bosworth  and 
Albert  T.  Folsom  of  Springfield;  5th  dist.,  Charles  E.  Hoag  of 
Springfield ;  6th  dist.,  Daniel  J.  Driscoll  2d  of  Chicopee ;  7th 
dist.,  Thomas  J.  Dooling  and  John  F.  Sheehan  of  Holyoke ;  8th 
dist.,  Ashton  E.  Hemphill  of  Holyoke;  9th  dist.,  S.  Augustus 
Allen  and  Andrew  Campbell  of  "Westfield. 

1899— 1st  dist.,  Nelson  A.  Bugbee  of  Monson ;  2d  dist.,  Cal- 
vin S.  Miller  of  Southwiek ;  3d  dist.,  Lewis  D.  Robinson  and 
AVillmore  B.  Stone  of  Springfield;  4th  dist.,  Albert  T.  Folsom 
and  Herbert  C.  Puffer  of  Springfield;  5th  dist.,  Edward  M.  Lom- 
bard of  Springfield ;  6th  dist.,  Daniel  J.  Driscoll  of  Chicopee ; 
7th  dist.,  Thomas  J.  Dillon  and  Thomas  J.  Dooling  of  Holyoke ; 
8th  dist.,  AA^illiam  E.  Judd  of  Holyoke ;  9th  dist.,  Andrew  Camp- 
bell and  Frank  S.  Dewey,  jr.,  of  Westfield. 

1900— 1st  dist..  Nelson  A.  Bugbee  of  Monson;  2d  dist., 
Charles  C.  Beebe  of  Wilbraham;  3d  dist.,  Lewis  D.  Robinson 
and  Willmore  B.  Stone  of  Springfield ;  4th  dist.,  John  F.  Marsh 
and  William  S.  Warriner  of  Springfield ;  5th  dist.,  Benjamin  C. 
Harvey  of  Springfield ;  6th  dist.,  Daniel  J.  Driscoll  of  Chicopee ; 
7th  dist.,  Thomas  J.  Dooling  and  Thomas  J.  Dillon  of  Holyoke ; 
8th  dist.,  Augustus  AY.  Esleeck  of  Holyoke ;  9th  dist.,  Frank  S. 
Dewey,  jr.,  of  Westfield,  and  George  H.  Hapgood  of  Chester. 

1901  — 1st  dist.,  Joseph  H.  Loudon  of  AYales;  2d  dist., 
Joseph  AYelch  of  Granville ;  3d  dist.,  Eugene  C.  Gardner  and 
Alexander  C.  Methven  of  Springfield ;  4th  dist.,  Fordis  C.  Par- 
ker and  AA^illiam  S.  AA^'arriner  of  Springfield ;  5th  dist.,  Fred  A. 
Bearse  of  Springfield ;  6th  dist.,  Bernard  F.  INIitchell  of  Chico- 
pee ;  7th  dist.,  Edward  D.  Bunyan  and  Thomas  J.  Dillon  of  Hol- 
yoke :  8th  dist.,  John  F.  Chase  of  Holyoke ;  9th  dist.,  Frank  S. 
Dewey  and  Harold  P.  Moseley  of  AA'estfield. 

Speakers  of  the  i^ouse- AYilliam  B.  Calhoun,  1828-34; 
George  Ashmun,  1841 ;  George  Bliss,  1853. 

(      148      ) 


CIVIL  LIST 

Clerks  of  the  House — William  Stowe,  1854,  and  1857-61. 

Chief  Justice,  Supreme  Judicial  Court — Reuben  Atwater 
Chapman,  1868-73. 

Justices  of  the  Supreme  Judicial  Court — Reuben  Atwater 
Chapman,  1860,  appointed  Chief  Justice,  1868,  died  1873 ;  John 
Wells,  1866-75,  died  1875;  Augustus  Lord  Soule,  1877-81,  re- 
signed, died  1887 ;  Marcus  Perrin  Knowlton,  appointed  1887,  still 
in  office. 

Justices  of  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas — (Court  established 
1820  and  abolished  in  1859),  David  Cummins,  1828-44,  resigned, 
died  1855 ;  Henry  Morris,  1855-59,  died  1888. 

Justices  of  the  Superior  Court — Henry  Yose,  1859-69;  Mar- 
cus Perrin  Knowlton,  1881-87,  appointed  to  Supreme  Judicial 
Court;  Justin  Dewey,  1886-1900;  James  Robert  Dunbar,  1888- 
98;  Elisha  Burr  Maynard,  1891— still  in  office. 

Justices  of  tlie  Court  of  Sessions'^  — Samuel  Fowler,  1812-13; 
Gideon  Burt.  1812-13 ;  Isaac  Coit,  1812-13 ;  Joshua  Frost,  1812- 
13;  Abel  Bliss,  1812-13;  Abner  Brown,  1813-19;  Heman  Day, 
1813-28  ;  Ethan  Ely,  1813-14 ;  AVilliam  Ely,  1814-18  ;  Amos  Ham- 
ilton, 1819-20 ;  Stephen  Pynchon,  1819-23 ;  Sylvester  Emmons, 
1819-25 ;  James  Stebbins,  1823-28 ;  Joseph  ForAvard,  1826-28. 

Judges  of  Prohate- — Samuel  Fowler,  1812 ;  John  Hooker, 
1813 ;  Oliver  B.  Morris,  1829. 

Judges  of  Prohate  and  Insolvency — John  Wells,  1858-63 ; 
William  S.  Shurtleff,  1863-96 ;  Charles  L.  Long,  1896— now  in 
office. 

Judge  of  Insolvency — John  INI.  Stebbins,  1856-59. 

Registers  of  Prolate"-— ^^Wlmm  Blair,  1812-13:  Oliver  B. 
Morris,  1813-29;  Justice  Willard,  1829-51;  William  L.  Smith, 
1851-53;  Henry  Smith,  1853-55;  Charles  A.  Winchester,  1855- 
57;  Charles  R.  Ladd,  1857-59. 

Registers  of  Prolate  and  Insolvency — William  S.  Shurtleff, 
1859-63 ;  Samuel  B.  Spooner,  1863-1901  and  now  in  office. 

iThis  court  originally  was  the  administrative  power  of  the  county,  and  as 
such  had  control  of  the  public  properties.       It  passed  out  of  existence  in  1828. 

^Col.  John  Pynchon,  of  Springfield,  was  appointed  judge  of  probate  of  Hamp- 
shire county  in  1692. 

^John  Pynchon  was  register  of  probate  from  1703  to  1729. 

(      149      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

Registers  of  Insolvency— Charles  A.  Winchester,  1856-57; 
William  S.  Shurtlefie,  1857-59. 

Police   Court  of  Springfield,  Justices — James  H.  Morton, 

1850-76 ;  Gideon  Wells,  1876-89 ;  Henry  W.  Bosworth,  1889-1901. 

Special  Justices— Charles  A.  Winchester,  Edward  Morris, 

Samuel  B.  Spooner,  Alfred  M.  Copeland,  Henry  AV.  Bos- 
worth, Charles  L.  Long,  EdAvin  F.  Lyford. 

Police  Court  of  Chicopee,  J'^s^jces— Mortimer  D.  AVhitaker, 
1855-63 ;  Edwin  O.  Carter,  1863-81 ;  Loranus  E.  Hitchcock,  1881- 
1901. 

Special  Justices — Jonathan  R.  Childs,  George  S.  Taylor, 

Edwin  0.  Carter,  Charles  Sherman,  Charles  H.  Williams, 

Simon  G.  Southworth,  Luther  White,  William  W.  McClench, 

James  H.  Loomis. 

Police  Court  of  Holyoke,  Justices— Joseipli  P,  Buckland, 
1871-77 ;  William  B.  C.  Pearsons,  1877-98 ;  Edward  W.  Chapin, 
1898-1901. 

Special  Justices— Yorter  F.  Underwood,  AVilliam  B,  C. 

Pearsons,  Edward  W,  Chapin,  Harris  L.  Sherman,  William 

Slattery,  Jabes  W.  Carney,  John  Hildreth,  Robert  A.  Allyn. 

District  Court  of  Eastern  Hampden,  Justices— James  G. 
Allen,  1872-79;  George  Robinson,  1879-98;  William  W.  Leach, 
1898-1901. 

Special  Justices — George  Robinson,  Ira  G.  Potter,  Henry 

F.  Brown,  James  B.  Shaw,  George  H.  Newton,  Herbert  A. 

McFarland. 

Distinct  Court  of  Western  Hampden,  Justices — Homer  B. 
Stevens,  1886-1901. 

Special  Justices— H.  B.  Lewis,  Henry  Fuller,  AYillis  S. 

Kellogg,  Alfred  F.  Lilley. 

District  Attor^ieys-  {Frexious  to  1832  this  office  was  known 
as  ''County  Attorney,"  the  incumbent  then  representing  the 
county,  but  afterward  being  an  officer  of  a  district.^  Hampden 
county  forms  a  part  of  the  western  district  of  Massachusetts). — 
Oliver  B.  Morris,  1812 ;  George  Bliss,  1812-17 ;  Samuel  Lathrop, 

^Names  of  Hampden  county  incumbents  only  are  given. 

(      150      ) 


CIVIL  LIST 

1817-21;  Oliver  B.  Morris,  1821-32;  William  G.  Bates,  1853; 
Edward  B.  Gillett,  1857-72 ;  George  M.  Stearns,  1872-74 ;  N.  A. 
Leonard,  1874-75 ;  E.  HoAvard  Lathrop,  1875-78 ;  N.  A.  Leonard, 
1878-81 ;  Charles  L.  Gardner,  1882-1901,  now  in  office. 

Clerks  of  the  Court^  (and  ex-officio  county  clerks)— John 
Ingersoll,  1812-41;  Richard  Bliss,  1841-52;  George  B.  Morris, 
1852-72 ;  Robert  0.  Morris,  1872-1901,  and  now  in  office. 

;S^/ien7/s— Jonathan  Smith,  jr.,  1812-14;  John  Phelps,  1814- 
31 ;  Caleb  Rice,  1831-51 ;  Justin  Wilson,  1851-53 ;  Patrick  Boise, 
1853-55;  Nathaniel  Cutler,  1855-57;  Robert  G.  Marsh,  1857-60; 
Frederick  Bush,  1860-69;  A.  M.  Bradley,  1869-78;  Hiram  Q. 
Sanderson,  1878-87 ;  Simon  Brooks,  1887-93 ;  Embury  P.  Clark, 
1893-1902,  now  in  office. 

County  Treasurer-— Fidwavd  Pynchon,  1812-30;  David 
Paine,  1830-35 ;  George  Colton,  1835-38 ;  William  Rice,  1838-56 ; 
Norman  Norton,  1856-59 ;  Charles  R.  Ladd,  1859-67 ;  M.  Wells 
Bridge,  1867-1891;  William  C.  Marsh,  1891-1894;  M.  Wells 
Bridge,  1894,  still  in  office. 

Eegisters  of  Deeds— Edward  Pynchon,  1812-30;  David 
Paine,  1830-31 ;  William  Rice,  1831-58 ;  James  E.  Russell,  1858- 
1893  ;  James  Russell  Wells,  January,  1893,  now  in  office. 

County  Commissioners— Caleb  Rice,  1828-31;  Joel  Norcross, 
1828-35;  Reuben  Boies,  jr.,  1828-35;  William  Bliss,  1831-35; 
James  W.  Crooks,  1835-38;  Gideon  Stiles,  1835-38;  Cyrus  Knox, 
1835-38;  John  Ward,  1838-44;  Patrick  Boise,  1841-44;  Forbes 
Kyle,  1841-44;  Willis  Phelps,  1844-47;  Samuel  Root,  1844-50; 
Austin  Fuller,  1844-47 ;  Penning  Leavitt,  1847-50 ;  John  McCray, 
1847-50;  Norman  T.  Leonard,  1850-53;  William  V.  Sessions, 
1850-53 ;  Melvin  Copeland,  1850-53 ;  William  B.  Calhoun,  1853- 
55 ;  Alured  Homer,  1853-57 ;  George  C.  Gibbs,  1853-56 ;  Francis 
Brewer,  1855-58  ;  Henry  Fuller,  1856-59  ;  Henry  F.  Brown,  1857- 
60 ;  Nelson  D.  Parks,  1858-64 ;  Henry  Charles,  1859-62 ;  Henry 

^Elizur  Holyoke,  of  Springfield,  was  clerk  of  courts  of  Hampshire  county 
from  September,  1660,  to  1676;  John  Holyoke  from  1678  to  1693,  and  John  Pyn- 
chon from  Dec.  1693,  to  1735. 

^John  Pynchon  was  treasurer  of  Hampshire  county  until  1681,  and  again 
for  several  years  after  1689.  William  Pynchon  was  treasurer  from  about  1796 
to  1808,  and  Edward  Pynchon  from  1808  to  Nov.  1812. 

(      151      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

Fuller,  1860-63;  Benning  Leavitt,  1862-65;  Daniel  G.  Potter, 
1863-69 :  Charles  C.  Wright,  1864-67 :  Ambrose  N.  Merrick,  1865- 
68 ;  William  jNI.  Lewis,  1867-76 ;  Phiueas  Stedman,  1867-71 ;  Ran- 
dolph Stebbins,  1869-71 ;  George  R.  Townsley,  1871-74 ;  James  S. 
Loomis,  1871-74 ;  Lawson  Sibley,  1873-76 ;  John  0.  Donnell. 
1874-77 ;  L.  F.  Thayer,  1875-78 ;  N.  S.  Hubbard,  1876-79 ;  Leon- 
ard Chase,  1877-80 ;  EdAvin  Chase,  1878-81 ;  Lewis  F.  Root,  1879- 
82 :  Leonard  Chase,  1880-83 ;  Henry  A.  Chase,  1881-84 ;  Lewis  F. 
Root,  1882-85 :  Leonard  Clark,  1883-86 ;  Henry  A.  Chase,  1884- 
87;  Lewis  F.  Root,  1885-88;  Leonard  Clark,  1886-89;  Ansel  F. 
Wilde,  1887-90 ;  Lewis  F.  Root,  1888-91 :  Leonard  Clark,  1889- 
92 :  Harvey  D.  Bagg,  1890-93 ;  Lewds  F.  Root,  1891-94 ;  Leonard 
Clark,  1892-95 ;  Harvey  D.  Bagg,  1893-96 ;  William  H.  Brainerd, 
1894-97 ;  James  M.  Sickman,  1894-96 ;  Timothy  M.  Brown,  1895- 
98;  James  M.  Sickman,  1896-99;  William  H.  Brainerd,  1897- 
1900;  Joel  M.  Hendrick,  1898-1901;  James  M.  Sickman,  1899- 
1902 ;  William  H.  Brainerd,  1900-03 ;  Joel  M.  Hendrick,  1901-04. 


CHAPTER  XII 

INTERNAL    IMPROVEMENTS 

Throughout  the  long  period  of  more  than  a  century  and  a 
half  after  the  earliest  settlements  in  the  Connecticut  valley  no 
attempt  was  made  to  establish  a  thoroughfare  of  travel  and 
transportation  between  the  thickly  settled  localities  of  Eastern 
Massachusetts  and  the  rapidly  growing  towns  in  the  western  part 
of  the  province.  The  pioneers  who  made  the  first  settlement  on 
the  site  of  Springfield  are  said  to  have  availed  themselves  of  two 
means  of  travel — land  and  water. 

According  to  established  tradition,  Mr.  Pynchon's  company 
sent  their  goods  from  the  Roxbury  plantation  to  Agawam  in 
Governor  Winthrop's  sailing  vessel,  by  way  of  the  ocean.  Long 
Island  sound  and  the  Connecticut  river,  while  the  adventurous 

(      155i      ) 


The  Boston  Stone,  a  historic  landmark  in  Benton  Park,  Springfield 

History  ascribes  the  erection  of  this  stone  to  Joseph  Wait,  a  merchant  of  Brook- 
tield,  who  lost  his  way  In  a  blinding  snowstorm  and  wandered  out  of  the 
traveled  path  of  the  Boston  Road.  That  other  travelers  should  not  be  like- 
wise beset  Mr.  Wait  erected  the  stone  in  1763. 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

pioneers  themselves  crossed  the  country  on  foot,  following  the 
Indian  trail  that  led  through  the  Nipmuck  country  direct  to  their 
place  of  destination.  Thus,  the  Indian  trail,  which  was  only  a 
well  beaten  path  through  the  forests,  became  the  first  route  of 
travel  betAveen  the  Connecticut  valley  and  the  home  settlements. 
In  the  course  of  a  few  years  increasing  westward  emigration 
required  better  facilities  for  transportation  of  goods,  and  the 
trail  was  widened  to  allow  the  passage  of  wagons.  Then  it  took 
the  name  of  the  "Bay  path,"  in  allusion  to  its  eastern  terminus, 
and  so  continued  to  be  known  until  a  few  years  before  the  revo- 
lution, when  the  more  dignified  name  of  "Boston  road"  was 
given  to  it. 

But  notwithstanding  its  prominence  as  a  route  of  travel  the 
Boston  road  was  hardly  more  than  a  narrow  wagon  path  until 
after  the  close  of  the  revolution,  and  as  late  as  1763  Joseph  Wait, 
a  Brookfield  merchant,  lost  his  way  just  on  the  outskirts  of  the 
Springfield  settlement,  at  a  point  now  almost  in  the  center  of  the 
city.  Soon  after  this  event  Mr.  Wait,  who  appears  to  have  been 
something  of  a  philanthropist,  set  up  a  substantial  guide  post  by 
the  wayside  for  the  benefit  of  Avayf arers  in  later  years ;  and  the 
stone  still  stands,  having  been  carefully  preserved  through  all 
subsequent  years  as  an  interesting  relic  of  early  days. 

Under  the  colonial  rule,  and  indeed  until  after  the  close  of 
the  revolution  and  the  adoption  of  the  constitution  of  the  com- 
monwealth, no  steps  were  taken  to  establish  routes  of  travel  in  the 
state,  but  soon  after  the  suppression  of  Shays'  insurrection  the 
legislature  was  besieged  with  applications  for  charters  for  turn- 
pike companies,  to  be  laid  out  chiefly  in  western  Massachusetts. 
These  companies  generally  were  numbered  in  the  order  of  incor- 
poration. 

The  First  Massachusetts  turnpike  corporation,  the  first  of 
the  companies  whose  line  of  road  was  laid  out  in  whole  or  in  part 
in  this  county,  was  chartered  by  the  legislature  June  11,  1796, 
and  named  as  incorporators  a  formidable  array  of  persons. 
Many  of  these  proprietors  were  Palmer  men,  hence  the  names  of 
all  of  them  may  properly  be  given  here :  Levi  Pease,  Ephraim 
Mower,  Nathaniel  Gorham,  Moses  Bliss,  Thomas  DA\nght,  Jona- 

(      154      ) 


INTERNAL  IMPROVEMENTS 

than  Dwiglit,  Dwight  Foster,  John  Hastings,  David  Sexton,  Sam- 
uel Fowler,  Ebenezer  Hunt,  Daniel  Goulding,  Samuel  Henshaw, 
John  Hooker,  Erastus  Lyman,  Joseph  Lyman,  Levi  Lincoln, 
Pliny  Merrick,  Ebenezer  Mattoon,  Charles  Phelps,  Nathaniel 
Paine,  Warham  Parks,  Benjamin  Prescott,  William  Shepard, 
Levi  Shepard,  Simeon  Strong,  Phineas  Upham,  Samuel  Ward, 
John  Williams,  Samuel  Flagg  and  Salem  Town.  This  company 
was  authorized  to  construct  and  maintain  a  toll  road,^  at  least 
three  rods  wide,  from  Western  Bridge,  in  Worcester  county,  to 
the  ''county  road"  near  Scott's  tavern  in  Palmer. 

The  Eighth  Massachusetts  turnpike  corporation  was  char- 
tered February  24,  1800,  and  was  authorized  to  construct  and 
operate  a  toll  road,  "beginning  on  the  line  between  Westfield 
and  Russell,  in  the  road  near  Westfield  river,  on  the  south  side 
thereof,  thence  to  run  by  said  river  through  Russell  and  Bland- 
ford  to  Falley 's  store  ;  thence  by  the  west  branch  through  Bland- 
ford  and  Chester  to  the  house  of  Elias  Leonard ;  thence  by  the 
commonly  called  'Government  road'  into  Becket." 

In  the  tOA^Tis  of  Blandford,  Russell  and  Chester  this  road 
was  a  higlnvay  of  great  importance,  in  which  the  entire  region 
apparently  was  interested,  if  the  number  of  incorporators  may 
be  taken  as  an  index  of  public  sentiment.  They  were  Joseph 
Stebbins,  James  S.  Dwight,  George  Bliss,  Zebina  Stebbins,  Alex- 
ander Bliss,  William  Smith,  Jeremiah  Woodsworth,  John  Cald- 
well, John  Morgan,  Joseph  Hart,  Christopher  Leffingwell,  Justin 
Ely,  Peletiah  Bliss,  Jeremiah  Stebbins,  Jonathan  Smith,  Samuel 
Master,  Warham  Parks,  William  Shepard,  James  Taylor,  Zach- 

^The  reader  of  course  will  understand  that  all  turnpike  road  companies  were 
incorporated  for  business  purposes,  and  that  the  hope  of  financial  gain  was  the 
motive  of  the  proprietors  rather  than  the  development  of  the  country  through 
which  the  road  was  intended  to  be  laid  out.  The  laws  regulating  companies 
of  this  character  authorized  the  opening  and  maintenance  of  toll  roads  and  the 
erection  of  toll-houses  and  gates  at  certain  distances.  At  each  toll-house  was 
a  gate-keeper,  whose  duty  was  to  collect  tolls  from  each  traveler  over  the  road. 
The  fares  authorized  to  be  charged  were  regulated  by  statute,  and  were  sub- 
stantially the  same  with  each  company.  The  "rates  of  toll"  charged  by  the  1st 
Mass.  turnpike  company  were  as  follows:  For  every  curricle,  16  cts ;  every 
chaise,  chair  or  other  carriage  drawn  by  one  horse.  12  cts  and  5  mills  ;  every 
sleigh  drawn  by  two  horses,  6  cts,  and  by  more  than  two  horses,  2  cts  for  each 
horse ;  "oxen  horses''  and  neat  cattle,  led  or  driven,  one  cent  and  five  mills. 

(      155      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

ariah  Bush,  Ashbel  Eager,  Adnah  Sacket,  Israel  Ashley,  Noah 
Phelps,  Titus  Doolittle,  Reuben  Parks,  Daniel  Falley,  David 
Mack,  James  Gilnian,  Oliver  Bush,  Elias  Leonard,  James  Harris. 
Hiram  Messenger,  Henry  Vanschaak,  Moses  Rigsbee,  Azariah 
Eggleston,  Seth  Lathrop,  Silas  King,  William  Pynchon,  Samuel 
Lyman,  Horace  White,  Heman  Day,  John  Hooker,  John  Inger- 
soll,  Elijah  Bates,  William  King  and  Samuel  Fowler. 

The  Eleventh  Massachusetts  turnpike  corporation  was  char- 
tered June  19,  1801,  and  was  another  prominent  thoroughfare  of 
travel  during  the  early  years  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Its 
incorporators  numbered  more  than  fifty  men  of  the  territory 
through  which  it  was  laid  out,  and  if  local  tradition  be  true  the 
road  had  an  interesting  early  history,  both  in  this  and  Berkshire 
county.  It  began  on  the  Connecticut  line,  at  the  northern  ter- 
minus of  a  turnpike  built  by  a  company  of  that  state,  and  ran 
through  the  east  parish  of  Granville  to  Blandford  meeting  house  : 
thence  through  the  "towTi  street"  of  Blandford,  by  the  usual 
"Pittsfield  road,"  so  called,  into  Becket,  and  there  united  with 
the  road  built  by  the  Eighth  turnpike  company.  The  act  pro- 
vided that  the  company  be  organized,  and  its  officers  elected,  at 
the  house  of  Solomon  Noble,  "innholder,"  in  Blandford. 

The  Thirteenth  turnpike  corporation  was  chartered  June  19, 
1801,  and  its  projectors  were  by  the  act  authorized  to  build  a  toll 
road  from  the  Connecticut  line,  near  Holmes'  mill,  to  the  meeting 
house  in  the  middle  parish  in  Granville,  and  thence  to  the  west- 
erly part  of  Loudon,  in  Berkshire  county.  The  company  was 
organized  at  the  house  of  Linus  Bates,  in  Granville,  in  August, 
1801. 

The  Chester  turnpike  corporation,  whose  road  was  a  well 
known  thoroughfare  of  travel  about  a  century  ago,  was  chartered 
May  5,  1803.  Under  the  act  the  company  was  authorized  to 
build  and  maintain  a  toll  road  "from  the  forks  of  the  road  in 
Partridgefield  west  parish,  a  few  rods  west  of  the  new  meeting 
house  there,  to  the  Middlefield  meeting  house ;  thence  to  Chester 
•  meeting  house."  and  thence  to  Parley  Crook's  in  Chester,  near 
the  west  branch  of  Westfield  river. 

The  Sixteenth  Massachusetts  turnpike  corporation  was  char- 
tered February  14,  1803,  with  authority  to  construct  and  main- 

(      156      ) 


INTERNAL  IMPROVEMENTS 

tain  a  toll  road  from  the  west  line  of  West  Springfield  (Agawam 
parish),  about  seventy  rods  west  of  Moses  Hays'  dwelling  house 
in  Southwick,  west  to  Edmund  Barlow's  dwelling  house  in 
Granville ;  and  thence  into  Berkshire  county. 

The  Springfield  and  Longmeadow  turnpike  corporation  was 
chartered  March  7,  1804,  and  Avas  one  of  the  first  roads  of  its 
character  leading  out  of  Springfield.  It  began  at  the  south  end 
of  Main  street,  near  the  dwelling  house  of  Major  Jacob  Bliss,  and 
run  thence  "by  the  nearest  and  most  convenient  route  through 
the  town  of  Longmeadow,"  to  the  Connecticut  line. 

The  incorporators  of  the  company  were  numerous  and  in- 
eluded  many  of  the  foremost  men  of  both  towns.  As  shown  by 
the  creating  act,  they  were  Nathaniel  Ely,  Jonathan  Dwight, 
James  Dwight,  William  Ely,  Jacob  Bliss,  Daniel  Lombard,  Will- 
iam Pynchon,  Chauncey  Brewer,  Eleazer  AYilliams,  Thomas  Wil- 
liston,  Thomas  Bates,  Eichard  AVool worth,  Moses  Field,  jr., 
Josiah  Cooley,  Lewis  White,  Gideon  Bush,  Elihu  Colton,  Demas 
Colton,  Nathaniel  Burt,  Seth  Steele,  John  Cooley  2d,  Calvin 
Burt,  Joshua  Frost,  John  Cooley,  Alexander  Field,  Samuel  Col- 
ton, Oliver  Blanchard,  Ethan  Ely,  Gideon  Colton,  jr.,  David 
Burt,  Samuel  Keep,  Noah  Bliss,  Samuel  Keep,  jr..  Gains  Bliss, 
Hezekiah  Hale,  Israel  Colton,  William  Colton,  Hanum  Cooley 
and  Ebenezer  Bliss. 

The  Petersham  and  Monson  turnpike  was  another  of  the 
once  famous  highways  of  eastern  Hampden  county,  although 
comparatively  little  of  the  road  was  laid  out  in  our  eastern  towns. 
The  company  was  incorporated  Febiiiary  29,  1804,  and  built  a 
turnpike  road  from  the  Fifth  Massachusetts  company's  road  in 
Athol  through  that  town,  also  through  Petersham,  Greenwich, 
Dana,  Ware,  Palmer  and  jNIonson,  to  connect  with  a  turnpike  in 
Stafford. 

The  Blandford  and  Russell  turnpike  company  was  incor- 
porated March  16,  1805,  and  included  among  its  stockholders 
probably  a  majority  of  the  substantial  men  of  those  towns.  At 
least  the  long  list  of  names  of  incorporators  would  seem  to  indi-- 
cate  that  nearly  the  whole  region  had  an  interest  in  the  con- 
struction of  the  road.     The  latter  was  to  be  laid  out  not  less  than 

(      157      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

four  rods  wide,  and  to  extend  from  the  dwelling  house  of  Stephen 
Saeket  in  Westtield  through  Russell  to  the  dwelling  house  of 
Solomon  Noble  in  Blandford. 

The  incorporators  of  the  company  were  Samuel  Knox,  Jacob 
Almy,  Israel  Ashley,  William  Ashley,  Stephen  Ashley,  Eli  P. 
Ashmun,  James  Babeock,  Ebenezer  Bartlett,  jr.,  Elijah  Bates, 
Aaron  Beard,  Adam,  Reuben,  Asa  and  James  Blair,  Reuben, 
Samuel,  Samuel  2d,  William,  David  2d,  and  David  Boies,  Joseph 
W.  Brewster,  Zadock  Brown,  Joseph  Bull,  Moses  A.  Bunnel, 
Perry  Button,  Robert  Cannon,  Martin  Cannon,  Chandler  Carter, 
Levi  Chapman,  Samuel  Chapman,  Thomas  James  Douglas. 
Joseph  B.  Elmore,  William  Ferguson,  Medad  Fowler,  Ephraim, 
Samuel  C.  and  Nathan  Gibbs,  Erastus  Grant,  John  Hamilton, 
Benjamin  Hastings,  James  and  Robert  Hazard,  Benjamin 
Henry,  Enoch  Holcomb,  jr.,  John  Ingersoll,  Elijah,  John  and 
William  Knox,  Jared  W,  Knowlton,  Jacob  Lounds,  Isaac  and 
James  Lloyd,  James  Moore,  Jacob  Morse,  Israel  Mosely,  Solo- 
mon Noble,  Jonathan  Osborn,  Gad  Palmer,  Squire  Palmer,  Ab- 
ner  Pease,  Ezra  and  Stephen  Saeket,  Jonathan  Shepard,  Solo- 
mon Stewart,  jr.,  AVilliam  Stewart,  Benjamin  Taggart,  John 
Watson,  Paul  and  Barnabas  Whitney,  Andrew  and  John  Wil- 
son, Amos  Witter  and  Oliver  Weller. 

Among  the  other  turnpike  companies  worthy  of  mention  in 
this  connection,  there  may  be  recalled  the  Granville  corporation, 
chartered  June  20,  1809 ;  the  Granville  and  Tolland  corporation, 
chartered  June  13,  1814 ;  the  Wilbraham  corporation,  chartered 
June  16,  1820,  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  toll  road  from  the 
west  end  of  the  First  Massachusetts  company's  road  through 
Wilbraham  and  a  part  of  Longmeadow  to  the  Connecticut  line, 
the  incorporators  being  Abel  Bliss,  jr.,  AVilliam  Clark,  Aaron 
Woodward,  John  Adams,  jr.,  Ebenezer  R.  Warner,  ]\Ioses  Burt, 
Pynchon  Bliss  and  John  Glover;  the  Chester  turnpike  corpora- 
tion, once  a  notable  company,  chartered  February  14,  1822,  to 
build  a  road  from  the  west  end  of  AYalton  bridge,  "upon  the 
present  road  of  the  Eighth  Massachusetts  turnpike  corporation, 
to  the  foot  of  Becket  mountain,  about  one-half  mile  west  of  the 
dwelling  house  of  Uriah  Ferre,  in  Chester,  thence  by  the  new 

(      158      ) 


INTERNAL   IMPEOVEMENTS 

road  to  Becket  turnpike,"  the  incorporators  being  Titus  Doo- 
little,  Daniel  Collins,  Thomas  Fry  and  Origen  A.  Perkins;  the 
Tolland  and  Otis  turnpike  company,  chartered  June  18,  1825 ; 
and  the  Hampden  and  Berkshire  company,  chartered  March  3, 
1826,  to  build  a  road  from  the  house  of  John  Mallory,  jr.,  in 
Eussell,  on  the  best  course  to  the  village  of  Blandford  and  thence 
in  the  best  course  to  the  Becket  turnpike. 

The  old  toll  road  system  of  early  days,  were  it  now  in  opera- 
tion, would  be  regarded  as  a  nuisance  and  a  detriment  to  public 
interests ;  but  three-quarters  of  a  century  ago,  and  less,  that  sys- 
tem was  the  direct  means  of  great  benefit  to  the  whole  country 
in  extending  settlement  into  new  localities  and  giving  a  per- 
manent value  to  thousands  of  acres  of  land  previously  inaccessi- 
ble to  settlers.  The  toll  roads  of  old  Hampshire  and  new  Hamp- 
den counties  were  as  important  in  their  day  as  the  steam  rail- 
roads of  the  present  time,  and  to  the  farmers  and  their  interests, 
the  former  were  far  more  valuable.  After  this  system  of  main 
arteries  of  travel  was  in  full  operation,  the  several  towns  took 
upon  themselves  the  task  of  laying  out  lateral  or  cross  roads,  and 
thus  even  the  most  remote  lands  were  made  available.  At  length, 
however,  when  the  agricultural  lands  were  all  occupied,  and 
when  other  and  more  modern  means  of  travel  had  been  provided, 
the  old  system  became  unpopular  and  soon  afterward  the  gates 
were  removed. 

Following  close  upon  the  opening  of  the  toll  roads  across  the 
state  there  came  a  new  era  of  progress  and  prosperitj'  in  the  his- 
tory of  Hampden  county.  As  early  as  about  the  year  1818  a 
line  of  stages  and  transportation  wagons  for  passengers  and  mer- 
chandise began  running  on  the  Boston  road  ]>etween  ihe  capital 
city  of  Massachusetts  and  Albany ;  and  within  the  next  score  of 
years  at  least  half  a  dozen  lines  of  stages  were  operating 
throughout  the  state.  This  was  the  most  prosperous  era  in  the 
annals  of  the  towns  of  Massachusetts,  and  one  in  which  every 
branch  or  calling  in  business  life  was  fostered  and  made  better. 
From  1820  until  the  advent  of  the  railroad  every  farmer  found 
a  ready  market  for  all  the  products  of  the  soil.  Good  prices  pre- 
vailed and  money  was  plenty;  and  in  the  general  distribution  of 

(      159      ) 


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INTERNAL  IMPROVEMENTS 

cash  the  farmer  received  his  full  share.  This  can  hardly  be 
said  of  auy  period  during  the  last  half  century.  In  those  days 
the  farmer  was  indeed  thriftless  who  did  not  pay  for  his  lands 
and  "lay  by"  at  least  a  small  store  of  wealth  for  the  future  com- 
fort of  his  family. 

Again,  during  the  first  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century, 
the  towns  of  Massachusetts  were  contributing  their  population 
to  southern  and  western  New  York  and  also  to  Ohio,  and 
throughout  that  period  down  to  about  1845  the  warm  months  of 
every  year  witnessed  a  constant  stream  of  travel  across  the  state 
from  east  to  west,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  there  was  any  ten  miles 
of  the  old  Boston  road  that  had  not  its  wayside  tavern  where  re- 
freshment and  good  cheer  were  offered  to  the  traveller.  And 
what  is  true  of  the  Boston  road  is  also  true  of  nearly  all  the  other 
turnpike  roads.  During  that  period  Springfield  was  an  impor- 
tant center  of  travel  and  trade,  and  the  scenes  of  activity'  around 
the  old  Hampden  cotfee  house  and  the  other  hostelries  of  the 
town  furnished  topics  of  discussion  in  every  circle  of  domestic 
life.  Business  Avas  active,  money  was  plenty  and  prosperity  pre- 
vailed on  every  hand.  Of  a  truth  it  may  be  said  that  the  era 
of  the  stage  coach  was  one  of  greater  progress  in  the  history  of 
the  toMTis  of  this  state  than  all  others  of  earlier  years.  During 
that  era  the  resources  of  the  towns  were  developed  to  their  full- 
est extent  and  the  foundations  of  thousands  of  fortunes  were 
laid. 

Fcrries.~T)\\Y\\\g,  the  period  of  the  turnpike  road  companies 
and  the  stage  lines  two  prominent  factors  in  connection  there- 
with contributed  to  the  Avelfare  of  Springfield.  The  first  and 
perhaps  the  most  prominent  of  these  was  the  old  Boston  road, 
which  formed  part  of  a  continuous  line  of  travel  between  Bos- 
ton and  Albany,  and  which  was  in  fact  the  route  most  used  by 
travellers  between  those  points.  The  other  factor  referred  to 
was  the  early  and  (for  the  time)  ample  means  afforded  for  cross- 
ing the  Connecticut  river.  As  early  as  1674  the  town  of  Spring- 
field authorized  Anthony  Dorchester  to  operate  a  ferry  across 
the  river  below  the  mouth  of  the  Agawam,  as  commonly  known, 
and  in  compensation  for  his  service  the  worthy  ferryman  was 

11-1  (      161      ) 


INTERNAL   IMPRO YEMEN TS 

allowed  to  charge  eight  pence  for  each  horse  and  man,  two  pence 
for  each  foot  traveller,  and  three  pence  for  each  trooper  on  train- 
ing days.  From  that  time  a  ferry  was  maintained  across  the 
river,  and  as  settlement  increased  on  the  west  side,  a  second  ferry 
was  established  farther  up  the  stream. 

In  1683,  at  the  suggestion  of  the  general  court,  a  second 
ferry  was  considered  by  the  selectmen  of  Springfield,  and  at  a 
town  meeting  held  in  February  it  was  voted  that  the  ''selectmen 
should  discourse  with  any  person  for  the  keeping  of  a  ferry  over 
the  Great  River,  and,  having  found  such  a  one,  to  make  report 
thereof  to  the  town."  At  that  time  the  selectmen  were  Deacon 
Jonathan  Burt,  Henry  Chapin,  John  Hitchcock,  Samuel  Ball 
and  John  Holyoke,  while  Daniel  Denton  served  in  the  capacity 
of  town  clerk.  In  the  following  year  the  town  voted  to  establish 
a  ferry  at  John  Dorchester's  place,  to  be  kept  by  him,  and  in 
addition  to  the  tolls  charged,  he  should  be  exempt  from  military 
training:  and  it  seems  that  the  shrewd  settler,  in  addition  to  his 
tolls,  asked  the  right  to  sell  liquors,  but  whether  the  request  was 
granted  the  records  are  silent. 

In  1718  the  town  voted  a  tax  for  the  purpose  of  establishing 
a  free  ferry  across  the  river,  and  appointed  John  Worthington, 
Joseph  Williston  and  Joseph  Merrick  to  provide  for  the  same. 
In  1727  the  ferry  at  the  "upper  wharf e"  was  let  to  John  Hug- 
gins  for  a  term  of  five  years.  In  1728  the  ferry  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Agawam  was  made  permanent.  In  1749  a  ferry  was  au- 
thorized at  the  "middle  wharfe, ''  and  at  the  same  time  it  was 
voted  that  Josiah  Dwiglit,  Daniel  Parsons,  George  Pynchon  and 
Jacob  White  "may  have  liberty  to  set  up  a  vessel  at  the  middle 
wharfe  in  said  town."  This  undoubtedly  was  the  first  attempt 
to  navigate  a  sailing  vessel  for  ferry  purposes  on  the  Connecti- 
cut river. 

The  ferries  to  which  allusion  is  made  in  preceding  para- 
graphs probably  were  located  in  the  vicinity  of  the  North  End 
Isridge,  or  the  "upper  wharfe,"  the  foot  of  Ferry  or  Cypress 
street,  the  "middle  wharfe,"  and  the  South  End  bridge  or 
"lower  wharfe,"  respectively.  The  upper  and  lower  ferries 
•were  maintained  many  years,  and  were  a  great  convenience  to 

(      163      ) 


OVB  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

travelers  in  those  localities;  but  the  needs  of  the  inhabitants  liv- 
ing near  the  center  of  business  and  population  in  the  town  re- 
quired more  ample  facilities  for  communication  with  the  west 
side  of  the  river,  hence  in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury the  middle  ferry  gave  way  to  a  bridge— one  of  the  pioneer 
structures  of  its  kind  in  the  Connecticut  valley.  As  late,  how- 
ever, as  1831  Hiram  Jones  was  authorized  to  keep  a  ferry  at 
Chicopee,  a  locality  which  had  not  the  benefits  of  a  bridge  across 
the  river  until  within  a  comparatively  recent  date. 

Bridycs.—\\  hen,  in  1786,  the  construction  of  a  bridge  across 
the  Connecticut  river  was  first  proposed  the  suggestion  was  re- 
ceived Avith  ridicule,  and  the  feat  was  declared  by  the  wiseacres 
as  impossible  to  be  accomplished.  At  that  time  bridges  were 
not  unknoAvn  in  the  valley,  but  they  were  few  in  number,  and 
were  confined  to  the  smaller  streams.  As  early  as  1782  the  gen- 
eral court  authorized  a  lottery  enterprise  in  aid  of  a  bridge  over 
the  Chicopee,  on  the  line  of  road  betAveen  Springfield  and  Had- 
ley,  another  across  the  Agawam  part  of  Westfield  river,  in  West- 
field,  and  a  third  across  Westfield  river  at  Weller's  mills,  in  the 
town  of  AYestfield.  In  1800  the  town  was  authorized  to  build 
a  bridge  over  Westfield  "Great  river,"  near  Park's  mills.  In 
1816  both  Palmer  and  Westfield  petitioned  the  court  of  sessions 
for  aid  from  the  public  funds  in  the  construction  of  bridges  in 
those  toAvns. 

Even  at  that  comparatively  recent  date  the  construction  of 
bridges  over  small  streams  was  regarded  as  a  doubtful  under- 
taking, and  the  erection  of  a  bridge  across  a  river  so  great  as  the 
Connecticut  Avas  looked  upon  as  an  impossible  feat.  In  March, 
1792,  an  incorporated  company  Avas  formed  for  the  purpose  of 
constructing  a  bridge  over  the  Connecticut  between  the  towns  of 
Greenfield  and  Montague,  in  the  north  part  of  Hampshire 
county,  and  three  j'ears  later  another  company  Avas  chartered 
for  the  same  purpose. 

Although  the  proposition  to  bridge  the  river  Avithin  the  limits 
of  Hampden  county  Avas  first  made  in  1786,  no  efifective  steps  in 
that  direction  Avere  taken  until  1803,  AA'hen,  on  February  22,  the 
legislature  passed  "An  act  for  incorporating  certain  persons  for 

(      164      ) 


IXTERXA  L   IMPRO  YEMENIS 

the  purpose  of  building  a  bridge  over  Connecticut  river,  and  for 
supporting  the  same;"  the  effective  portion  of  which  act  was  as 
follows : 

"Whereas  a  bridge  over  Connecticut  river,  between  the 
towns  of  Springfield  and  West  Springfield,  in  the  county  of 
Hampshire,  would  be  of  public  convenience;  and  whereas  John 
Hooker  and  others  have  presented  a  petition  to  this  court  pray- 
ing for  liberty  to  build  the  same,  and  to  be  incorporated  for  that 
purpose : ' ' 

"Be  it  enacted,"  etc.,  "That  John  Hooker,  George  Bliss, 
Joseph  Williams,  Samuel  Fowler,  William  Sheldon,  Jonathan 
Dwight,  Thomas  Dwight,  James  Scutt  Dwight,  William  Smith, 
William  Pynchon,  Jonathan  Smith,  jr.,  Jere  Stebbins,  Seth 
Lathrop,  Samuel  Lathrop,  Justin  Ely,  jr.,  Solomon  Stebbins, 
Peletiah  Bliss,  Reuben  Sikes,  Thaddeus  Leavitt,  Jacob  Bliss, 
Alexander  Bliss,  Zebina  Stebbins,  George  Blake,  Justin  Lom- 
bard and  Eleazer  Williams,  with  such  other  persons  as  already 
have  associated,  or  may  hereafter  associate  with  them,  be,  and 
they  are  hereby  made  and  constituted  a  corporation  and  body 
politic,  by  the  name  of  The  Proprietors  of  the  Springfield 
Bridge." 

The  company  was  authorized  to  build  a  bridge  across  the 
Connecticut  at  any  point  between  the  "the  mouth  of  the  Aga- 
wam  river  and  the  mouth  of  Plain  brook,  so  called." 

In  accordance  Avith  the  authority  of  the  act  the  company  at 
once  began  the  work  of  construction,  and  on  October  30,  1805, 
the  Springfield  bridge  was  completed  and  opened  for  traffic.  It 
was  one  of  the  most  notable  structures  of  its  kind  in  the  country, 
and  its  completion  was  one  of  the  first  successful  attempts  to 
bridge  the  river  at  any  point  throughout  its  entire  length  from 
Northern  Vermont  and  New  Hampshire  to  Long  Island  sound. 
This  pioneer  bridge  was  1,234  feet  long,  forty  feet  above  low 
water,  and  cost  $36,270.  It  comprised  six  spans,  or  arches,  sup- 
ported by  two  abutments  and  five  piers.  Thirty  rods  above  the 
bridge  the  company  caused  two  "ice-breaks"  to  be  built  in  the 
river  to  protect  the  main  structure. 

The  formal  opening  was  an  occasion  of  joyous  celebration 
in  Springfield  and  its  sister  town  across  the  river;  and  a  salute 

(      165      ) 


01 R  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

of  seveutcen  guns  tliree  times  repeated  from  each  end  of  the 
bridge  was  one  of  the  events  of  the  day  (Rev.  Joseph  A.  Lath- 
rop's  sermon  from  Isaiah  45:18,  specially  prepared  for  the  occa- 
sion, Avas  another),  and  the  citizens  marched  through  the  streets 
in  honor  of  the  company's  achievement. 

The  folloAving  description  of  the  Springfield  bridge  is  taken 
from  Henry  Brewer's  Federal  Spy,  the  article  being  printed 
in  1805,  viz. : 

"This  bridge  is  so  constructed  with  frames  upon  each  pier 
connected  by  long  timbers  with  the  arches,  that  the  traveller 
passes  over  nearly  the  whole  extent  of  it  on  an  elevated  plane, 
affording  a  vieAV  of  extensive  landscapes  in  which  are  blended 
well-cultivated  fields,  pleasant  villages,  rivers,  meadows,  lofty 
mountains,  and  indeed  a  wildness  and  variety  in  the  beauties  of 
nature  which  is  highly  gratifying  to  the  eye." 

Notwithstanding  the  favorable  circumstances  which  at- 
tended the  construction  of  the  Springfield  bridge,  the  structure 
itself  was  short  lived,  and  in  its  destruction  the  "knoAving  ones" 
found  verification  of  their  predictions,  therefore  breathed  more 
freely  and  in  a  measure  felt  compensated  for  the  great  loss  the 
public  had  sustained.  (3n  Jul.y  19,  1814,  the  bridge  fell  into 
the  river  and  Avas  demolished.  It  Avas  an  unfortunate  eA'ent  and 
Avas  regarded  as  a  public  calamity,  for  the  bridge  had  come  to 
be  regarded  as  an  indispensable  convenience  to  travel  between 
Boston  and  Albany.  The  cause  of  its  destruction  is  said  to  have 
been  the  heavily  loaded  army  Avagons  used  during  the  Avar  of 
1812,  but  the  main  fault  lay  in  the  unnecessarily  heavy  Aveight 
of  the  bridge  itself.  In  a  measure  its  construction  Avas  an  ex- 
periment, the  builders  having  no  precedent  to  guide  them  and 
only  their  oavu  imperfect  knoAAdedge  of  bridge  engineering  for 
the  regulation  of  their  Avork.  Had  the  bridge  been  only  half 
as  lieaA'y,  it  probably  Avould  not  have  fallen. 

The  loss  of  the  first  bridge,  hoAveA'er,  did  not  discourage  the 
company,  although  the  purses  of  the  stockholders  had  been 
drained  in  its  construction.  They  at  once  set  about  rebuilding, 
and  in  Jainiary,  1815,  the  legislature  passed  an  act  authorizing 
the  company  to  raise  a  fund  of  ^^20,000  by  lottery.       This  Avas 

(      166      ) 


be 

X 


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73 


CQ 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

done,  and  on  October  1.  1816.  a  new  bridge  was  opened  for 
travel.      It  cost  about  $22,000. 

In  ]\Iarch,  1818,  the  second  bridge  was  swept  away  by  high 
water,  only  the  abutments  and  two  piers  on  the  west  side  surviv- 
ing the  flood.  This  second  loss,  following  so  close  upon  the 
first,  Avas  a  heavy  blow  to  the  company,  but  evidently  the  man- 
agement was  not  disheartened.  Again,  however,  they  had  re- 
course to  the  legislature,  and  by  an  act  passed  February  18,  1819. 
the  ''managers  of  the  Springfield  bridge  lottery"  were  directed 
to  continue  their  drawings  until  they  had  raised  the  sura  author- 
ized by  the  act  of  1813 ;  and  the  act  further  authorized  the  man- 
agers to  "draw  one  class  by  which  they  may  raise  $10,000  for 
the  benefit  of  the  company, ' '  on  condition  that  the  company  give 
a  bond  to  rebuild  the  bridge  within  one  year  from  June  1,  1819. 

Agreeable  to  the  provisions  of  the  act,  and  availing  itself  of 
the  lottery  enterprise,  the  company  built  a  third  bridge — the  old 
covered  bridge  that  still  spans  the  river  at  the  foot  of  Bridge 
street.  It  was  completed  in  the  early  part  of  1820,  and  its  sub- 
sequent long  life  w^as  a  real  disappointment  to  those  who  fore- 
told the  fate  of  the  first  bridge ;  for  it  outlived  them  all,  and  sur- 
vived the  ravages  of  time  and  flood  and  fire,  even  to  the  present 
day.  More  than  four  score  years  the  structure  has  accommo- 
dated travel  between  Springfield  and  the  thickly  settled  towns 
across  the  river,  and  for  many  years  it  was  the  only  bridge  over 
the  Connecticut  within  the  limits  of  Hampden  county.  AYithin 
the  last  twenty-five  years  the  structure  frequently  has  been 
strengthened  in  the  hope  that  its  use  might  be  continued,  but  vir- 
tually it  is  condemned  and  for  some  twenty  yeare  the  people 
have  been  clamorous  for  a  new  bridge  on  its  site. 

The  covered  bridge  was  built  at  a  cost  of  $25,000.  It  is 
1,287  feet  long,  twenty-eight  feet  above  low  water,  and  eighteen 
feet  wide.  The  side  walk  was  added  in  1878.  It  was  main- 
tained as  a  toll  bridge  until  1873,  when  it  was  taken  by  commis- 
sioners appointed  under  the  act  to  abolish  the  tolP  system.       It 

^The  act  of  incorporation  authorized  rates  of  toll  as  follows :  Foot  pas- 
sengers. 3  cts. ;  horse  and  rider.  7  cts.  ;  horse  and  chaise,  chair  or  sulky,  16  cts. ; 
coach,  chariot,  phaeton  or  other  four-wheeled  carriage  for  passengers.  33  cts. ; 

(      168      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

was  purchased  for  iii:?0,00(),  of  wliieli  the  county  paid  $15,000, 
West  Springfield,  $4,000,  Springfield,  $10,000,  and  Agawam, 
$1,000.  Since  that  time  it  has  been  maintained  as  a  free  bridge, 
tlie  county  paying  one-half,  Springfield  one-third  and  West 
Springfield  one-sixth  of  the  expense. 

The  Chicopee  bridge,  so  called,  but  formerly  known  as  the 
Cabot  and  West  Spring-field  bridge,  dates  its  history  from  the 
year  1846,  when,  on  March  27,  the  Cabot  and  West  Springfield 
bridge  company  was  incorporated.  The  bridge  itself  was  built 
in  1848-49,  and  was  maintained  as  a  toll  bridge  until  purchased 
and  made  free  in  1872.  The  original  founders  of  the  enterprise 
were  Eobert  E.  Bemis,  Veranus  Chapin,  Aaron  Ashley,  Horace 
Smith  and  their  associates,  who  were  authorized  to  build  and 
maintain  a  toll  bridge  across  the  Connecticut  at  Ashley's  ferry, 
so  called,  or  between  that  point  and  Jones'  ferry,  as  the  county 
commissioners  should  determine. 

When  taken  and  made  a  free  bridge  in  1872  the  company 
received  $36,000,  one-half  of  which  was  paid  by  the  county  at 
large,  one-third  by  Chicopee,  and  one-sixth  by  West  Springfield. 
The  subsequent  cost  of  maintenance  has  been  paid  by  Chicopee, 
two-thirds,  and  West  Springfield  one-third. 

The  Agawam  bridge  company  was  incorporated  June  4, 
1856,  by  Lyman  Whitman,  Thomas  Kirkland,  Henry  Fuller, 
Henry  Sikes,  Luther  Loomis,  Henry  Wolcott,  Charles  G.  Rice, 
Elijah  Bliss,  J.  R.  Cooley,  Horace  Cutler  and  their  associates, 
for  the  purpose  of  building  and  maintaining  a  toll  bridge  across 
the  Connecticut  between  the  city  of  Springfield  and  the  town  of 
Agawam,  "at  or  near  the  present  ferry,"  as  stated  in  the  act; 
but  notwithstanding  the  efforts  put  forth  by  the  company,  the 
bridge  was  not  built  by  the  original  proprietors.  The  legislature 
frequently  extended  the  time  for  completion,  and  finally,  in 
1873,  an  act  of  the  general  court  authorized  the  construction  of 
a  free  bridge  at  that  point.  Even  then  six  more  years  passed 
before  the  work  was  accomplished  and  the  people  of  Agawam 
were  given  direct  communication  with  the  county  seat. 

curricle,  25  cts. ;  horse  and  sleigh  drawn  by  one  horse,  10  cts..  and  if  drawn  by 
more  than  one  horse,  12M;  cts.;  neat  cattle,  3  cts.;  sheep  or  swine,  1  cent. 

(      170      ) 


IMERXAL   niPFOVEMEXTS 

The  South  End  bridge,  successor  to  the  proposed  Agawam 
bridge,  was  built  in  1879,  at  a  cost  of  $116,188 ;  of  which  sum  the 
county  paid  $11,000,  Springfield,  $75,522,  and  Agawam,  $29,666. 
The  expense  of  maintenance  is  borne  by  Springfield  and  Aga- 
wam, the  former  paying  eighty-five  per  cent,  and  the  latter  fif- 
teen per  cent,  of  the  cost. 

The  Holyoke  and  South  Hadley  Falls  bi'idge  company^  was 
incorporated  April  27,  1865,  by  Alonzo  Bardwell,  S.  S.  Chase, 
Stephen  Holman  and  others,  to  build  and  maintain  a  toll  bridge 
between  Holyoke  and  South  Hadley  Falls  in  Hampshire  county. 
In  1870  an  act  of  the  legislature  authorized  the  county  commis- 
sioners of  Hampshire  and  Hampden  counties  to  lay  out  a  high- 
Avay  and  construct  a  free  bridge  between  these  places,  and  in 
May  following  authority  was  granted  to  contract  with  the  Con- 
necticut river  railroad  company  for  the  use  of  its  bridge  for 
traffic.  In  1872  the  bridge  was  made  free.  In  1873  a  new  Hol- 
yoke and  South  Hadley  bridge  was  built  at  a  total  cost  of  $162,- 
780.  Of  this  sum  Hampden  county  paid  $35,500,  Holyoke, 
$85,780,  Hampshire  county,  $17,500,  South  Hadley,  $15,000, 
Belchertown,  $3,500,  and  Granby,  $5,500.  For  subsequent 
maintenance  Holyoke  has  paid  eighty  per  cent,  and  South  Had- 
ley twenty  per  cent. 

The  present  Holyoke  and  South  Hadley  bridge  was  built  in 
1890,  and  cost  $169,300.  This  expense  was  apportioned  as  fol- 
lows :  Hampden  county,  $50,060 ;  Chicopee,  $2,500 ;  Holyoke, 
$85,615;  Hampshire  county,  $17,770;  South  Hadley,  $9,355; 
Belchertown,  $1,500;  Granby,  $2,500. 

The  North  End  bridge  in  Springfield,  one  of  the  most  sub- 
stantial structures  of  its  kind  in  the  Connecticut  valley,  and  an 
honor  to  any  municipality,  was  built  in  1878,  and  cost  $170,904. 
Of  this  amount  West  Springfield  paid  $25,780,  and  Springfield, 
$145,124.  In  maintenance  Springfield  contributes  eighty-five 
per  cent,  and  AVest  Springfield  fifteen  per  cent. 

^The  original  Holyoke  and  South  Hadley  Falls  bridge  company  was  incor- 
porated April  24,  1850,  by  Alonzo  Bardwell,  Charles  Peck,  James  H.  Clapp  and 
others,  and  was  authorized  to  build  and  maintain  a  toll  bridge  across  the  Con- 
necticut for  a  period  of  sixty  years  after  the  bridge  was  opened  for  traffic. 

(      171      ) 


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INTERNAL  IMPROVEMENTS 

The  Willimansett  bridge,  an  original  structure,  was  built 
in  1893,  and  cost  $178,326.69.  Of  this  amount  the  county  at 
large  paid  $20,000,  Chicopee,  $52,775.56,  and  Holyoke,  $105,- 
551.13. 

From  what  is  stated  in  preceding  paragraphs  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  county,  and  the  towns  charged  with  the  cost,  have  paid 
(or  are  to  pay)  for  bridges  now  in  use  across  the  Connecticut 
river,  the  principal  sum  of  $790,873.69,  divided  as  follows: 
Hampden  county,  $149,560 ;  Chicopee,  $60,275.56 ;  West  Spring- 
field, $35,780;  Springfield,  $230,646;  Agawam,  $30,666;  Hol- 
yoke, $276,946.13. 

Canals.— Boon  after  1790  the  subject  of  artificial  waterways 
on  the  Connecticut  river  for  transportation  purposes  was  first 
discussed  in  business  and  legislative  circles  in  Massachusetts, 
and  in  1792  an  act  of  the  general  court  incorporated  ' '  The  Pro- 
prietors of  the  Locks  and  Canals  on  the  Connecticut  River." 
The  incorporators  and  prime  movers  of  the  then  gigantic  under- 
taking were  chiefly  resident  in  Hampshire  county,  but  the  com- 
pany included  a  number  of  prominent  men  in  what  afterward 
was  Hampden  county,  among  them  being  John  Worthington, 
Samuel  Lyman,  Jonathan  Dwight,  John  Hooker  and  William 
Smith,  of  Springfield,  Samuel  Fowler  of  Westfield,  and  Justin 
Ely,  of  West  Springfield.  The  object  of  the  company  Avas  to 
construct  canals  around  the  falls  at  South  Hadley,  thus  opening 
the  Connecticut  as  a  navigable  waterway  for  rafts  and  boats  of 
light  burthen. 

Although  the  managers  of  the  enterprise  worked  diligently 
to  accomplish  the  task  of  building  a  canal  around  both  the  lower 
and  the  upper  falls,  they  found  the  undertaking  far  more  diffi- 
cult and  expensive  than  was  at  first  expected,  therefore  the  ori- 
ginal company  contented  itself  with  building  only  the  lower 
canal,  Avhile  a  new  corporation,  created  by  the  legislature  in  1794, 
undertook  the  work  of  constructing  a  canal  around  the  upper 
falls,  or  rapids. 

However,  the  entire  undertaking  was  greater  than  was  con- 
templated by  either  company,  and  the  work  was  retarded  by 
many  embarrassing  obstacles;  but  at  last,  after  several  years, 

(      173      ) 


OLE'  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

the  canals  were  substantially  completed  and  put  in  operation, 
although  they  never  met  with  the  success  they  really  deserved. 
It  was  not  only  a  new  undertaking,  but  a  pioneer  enterprise  in 
the  country,  and  one  in  which  the  projectors  had  no  precedent 
to  follow-. 

The  Hampshire  and  Hampden  canal  was  more  particularly 
a  local  enterprise,  and  one  in  which  the  substantial  men  of  "West- 
field  were  deeply  interested.  The  Hampshire  and  Hampden 
canal  company  was  incorporated  February  4,  1823,  and  was 
authorized  to  build  and  maintain  a  canal  from  Northampton  to 
the  Connecticut  state  line,  passing  through  the  towns  of  North- 
ampton, Easthampton  and  Southampton  in  Hampshire  county 
and  Westfield  and  Southwick  in  Hampden  county.  The  incor- 
porators were  Samuel  Hinckley,  Ebenezer  Hunt,  Ferdinand  H. 
Wright,  Isaac  Damon,  Eliphalet  Williams,  Samuel  Fowler,  Eli- 
jah Bates,  William  Atwater,  Enos  Foote,  John  Mills,  Heman 
Laflin  and  their  associates. 

Under  its  charter  the  company  was  authorized  "to  locate, 
construct  and  fully  complete  a  navigable  canal,  with  locks,  tow- 
paths,  basins,  wharves,  dams,  embankments,  toll  houses,  and 
other  necessary  appendages, ' '  between  the  points  previously'  men- 
tioned, "with  pow'cr  to  employ  and  use  as  reservoirs  or  feeders, 
the  different  ponds,  rivers  and  stream  of  water,  near  or  over 
which  said  canal  may  pass,  and  also  to  save  the  floods  and  other 
waters  of  the  ponds,  rivers  and  streams,  so  used  as  aforesaid,  and 
said  corporation  shall  have  power  to  connect  with  said  canal,  by 
feeders  or  by  navigable  canals,  any  and  all  said  ponds,  rivers, 
streams  and  reservoirs." 

The  company  was  allowed  ten  years  in  which  to  complete 
the  canal,  and  on  February  20,  1832,  the  time  was  extended  to 
January  1,  1835.  The  work  was  finished  as  far  as  Westfield 
soon  after  1830,  and  to  Northampton  in  1834.  About  this  time, 
however,  the  company  was  in  financial  straits,  and  in  April, 
1836,  an  act  of  the  legislature  incorporated  the  New  Haven  and 
Northampton  canal  company,  which  succeeded  by  purchase  and 
absorption  to  the  rights,  privileges  and  franchises  of  the  older 
company.       By  this    consolidation    a    continuous    line  of  canal 

(      174      ) 


RAILBOADS 

under  a  single  management  was  in  operation  between  New 
Haven  and  Northampton.  In  its  time  it  was  regarded  as  a  re- 
markable waterway,  from  which  great  good  accrued  to  the  towns 
of  AVestfield  and  Southwick, 

This  once  famous  avenue  of  travel  and  transportation  was 
kept  in  operation  until  about  18-17,  when  overpowering  railroad 
competition  compelled  a  suspension  of  business.  It  is  still  fondly 
remembered  by  many  citizens  of  AYestfield  and  Southwick,  and 
traces  of  it  are  yet  discernible  in  several  localities.  It  crossed 
Westfield  river  on  a  wooden  aqueduct  on  stone  piers,  and  about 
a  quarter  of  a  mile  above  Salmon  Falls  a  dam  was  built  across 
the  same  stream  to  insure  a  feed  supply  of  Avater.  The  first 
dam  proved  unsatisfactory  and  a  new  one  was  constructed  just 
above  the  falls.  Traces  of  the  feeder  canal  can  now  be  seen  be- 
tween the  railroad  and  the  river,  and  in  places  the  mason  work 
where  the  gates  were  built  is  vet  visible. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

INTERNAL    IMPROVEMENTS— RAILROADS 

The  first  effective  act  to  incorporate  a  railroad  company, 
whose  line  of  road  should  pass  through  Hampden  county,  was 
adopted  by  the  legislature  March  15,  1833,  when  Nathan  Hale, 
David  Henshaw,  George  Bond,  Henry  Williams,  Daniel  Dewey, 
Joshua  Clapp  and  Eliphalet  Williams  were  granted  a  charter 
under  the  name  of  the  Western  railroad  corporation,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  constructing  and  operating  a  railroad  from  the  western 
terminus  of  the  Boston  and  Worcester  road,  at  Worcester,  to  the 
New  York  state  line  on  the  western  border  of  Massachusetts. 
The  capital  stock  of  the  company  at  first  was  limited  to  $2,000,- 
000,  and  was  taken  by  more  than  2,200  subscribers.  The  com- 
pany, however,  was  not  fully  organized  until  January,  1836, 
when  the  following  board  of  directors  was  chosen:       John  B. 

(      175      ) 


CQ 


EAlLliOADS 

Wales,  Edniinid  Uwiglit,  George  Bliss,  William  Lawrence, 
Henry  Kice,  John  Henshaw,  Francis  Jackson,  Josiali  Quincy, 
jr.,  and  Justice  Willard, 

For  more  than  forty  years  previous  to  this  act  of  incorpora- 
tion the  capitalists  of  eastern  Massachusetts  had  been  looking 
anxiously  for  more  direct  and  rapid  means  of  communication 
with  the  western  portion  of  the  state  than  Avas  afforded  by  the 
transportation  wagons  and  stages  doing  business  on  the  estab- 
lished turnpike  roads,  and  as  early  as  1792  the  "Proprietors  of 
the  Massachusetts  Canal"  were  incorporated  for  the  purpose  of 
constructing  a  canal  across  the  state  from  east  to  west;  and  to 
this  end  surveys,  maps  and  estimates  were  made,  but  beyond 
these  preliminary  proceedings  nothing  was  accomplished.  After 
this  much  had  been  done,  the  subject  of  a  canal  was  one  of  dis- 
cussion only  until  1825,  Avhen  Governor  Eustis  recommended  the 
appointment  of  three  commissioners  to  ascertain  the  practicabil- 
ity of  constructing  a  canal  from  Boston  harbor  to  the  Connecti- 
cut river,  and  thence  to  ultimately  extend  the  same  to  the  Hud- 
son river.  In  answer  to  this  suggestion  a  commission  was  es- 
tablished and  several  routes  were  examined  and  discussed,  but 
in  1826  the  legislature  tabled  the  report  of  the  commissioners 
and  repealed  the  enabling  act,  which  for  a  time  put  an  end  to  the 
matter,  for  still  more  rajoid  means  of  transportation  had  in  the 
meantime  been  put  into  operation  in  other  states  and  was  the 
subject  of  earnest  discussion  among  capitalists  in  Boston. 

In  1826  petitions  were  presented  to  the  legislature  asking 
that  the  committee  on  roads  and  canals  cause  preliminary  sur- 
veys to  be  made  for  a  "railway"  from  Boston  to  the  Hudson 
river,  the  same  to  be  operated  by  horse  power,  for  steam  roads 
then  were  not  in  existence,  although  such  an  innovation  had  been 
suggested  as  possible.  The  next  two  years  were  spent  in  exam- 
ining proposed  routes,  making  surveys  and  discussing  the  ad- 
visability of  the  undertaking,  with  result  in  a  report  favorable 
to  the  enterprise.  In  1828  an  act  of  the  legislature  established 
a  "board  of  directors  of  internal  improvements,"  comprising 
nine  members,  and  in  the  same  year  ^he  New  York  legislature 
gave  further  encouragement  to  the  work  by  passing  "an  act  to 

12-1  (      177      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

facilitate  the  construction  of  a  railroad  from  the  city  of  Boston 
to  the  Hudson  river,"  and  pledged  that  state  to  continue  to  the 
Hudson  river  the  road  proposed  to  be  built  by  jVIassachusetts 
from  Boston  to  the  New  York  line. 

On  June  2,  1831,  the  Boston  and  Worcester  railroad  cor- 
poration was  created  by  act  of  the  legislature,  with  a  capital  of 
$1,000,000,  and  with  authority  to  build  and  maintain  a  railroad 
from  Boston  to  Worcester.  The  company  was  organized  May 
1,  1832.  On  March  15,  1833,  the  directors  of  the  aforesaid  com- 
pany were  further  incorporated  as  "The  Western  railroad  cor- 
poration," with  an  authorized  capital  of  not  more  than  20,000 
shares  of  $100  each,  for  the  purpose  of  constructing  a  railroad 
from  Worcester  to  the  Connecticut  river,  at  Springfield,  and 
thence  to  the  westerly  boundary  of  the  state.  The  Boston  and 
Worcester  company  had  exclusive  control  of  the  charter  of  the 
Western  company.  On  May  5,  1834,  the  New  York  legislature 
granted  a  charter  to  the  Castleton  and  West  Stockbridge  rail- 
road company  (the  name  was  changed  in  1836  to  the  Albany 
and  West  Stockbridge  railroad  company)  to  build  a  railroad 
from  Greenbush  to  the  Massachusetts  line ;  and  with  this  action 
the  entire  line  of  road  was  provided  for,  but  not  built.  The 
road  from  Boston  to  Worcester  w^as  completed  and  opened  for 
traffic  July  4,  1835. 

The  construction  of  the  Western  railroad  west  of  Worces- 
ter was  accomplished  only  after  many  vicissitudes.  The  lead- 
ing spirits  of  tlie  enterprise  in  Springfield  were  George  Bliss, 
Caleb  Rice,  AY.  H.  Bowdoin  and  Justice  Willard,  but  notwith- 
standing their  strenuous  efforts  the  people  were  slow  to  invest 
their  money  in  the  undertaking,  regarding  its  ultimate  success 
as  doubtful.  The  need  of  a  road  from  Worcester  to  Spring- 
field Avas  conceded,  and  Springfield  finally  awakened  to  that  fact. 
A  public  meeting  was  held  in  the  town  hall  early  in  January. 
1835,  and  resulted  in  a  call  for  a  general  convention  to  be  held 
in  Worcester  in  May  following.  Then  the  road  became  an  as- 
sured fact  and  the  people  set  themselves  diligently  to  work  to 
accomplish  that  end.  Surveys  were  at  once  begun  and  lines 
were  even  run  in  the  direction  of  Hartford. 

(      178      ) 


O 


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03 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

It  has  beeu  said  that  this  very  fact  stirred  the  Springfield 
people  to  action,  for  the  projectors  of  the  road,  on  learning  of 
the  apathy  which  existed  in  Springfield,  suggested  a  road  from 
"Worcester  to  Albany  by  way  of  Hartford.  Indeed,  the  Hart- 
ford capitalists  entered  earnestly  into  the  plan  in  gootl  faith  and 
caused  surveys  to  be  made  from  that  city  to  Worcester,  and  also 
examined  routes  leading  to  the  westward. 

Early  in  June,  1836,  the  capital  stock  of  the  Western  road 
had  been  subscribed,  upon  which  the  company  Avas  organized, 
with  George  Bliss  and  Justice  Willard,  of  Springfield,  members 
of  the  board  of  directors.  On  March  16  Mr.  Bliss  was  appointed 
agent  of  the  company.  He  had  been  one  of  the  chief  advocates 
of  the  road  from  the  beginning,  and  to  his  influence  more  than 
any  other  man  is  due  its  construction  through  Springfield.  Sur- 
veys on  the  route  between  Worcester  and  Springfield  were  be- 
gun in  the  spring  of  1836,  and  early  in  the  sunnner  three  parties 
of  surveyors  were  operating  west  of  the  Connecticut.  Several 
routes  were  suggested  and  examined,  and  for  some  time  it  was 
quite  uncertain  which  was  the  most  desirable.  East  of  the  river 
the  work  of  construction  was  begun  in  1836,  and  was  so  far  com- 
pleted that  passenger  trains  were  run  from  Boston  to  Spring- 
field, October  1,  1839. 

In  the  meantime  work  west  of  Springfield  was  jirogressing 
slowly,  and  the  funds  of  the  company  were  exhausted  before  the 
line  was  half  built.  In  1836  the  legislature  had  been  petitioned 
for  state  aid  in  the  establishment  of  the  Western  railroad  bank, 
to  be  operated  in  Boston  in  connection  with  the  railroad,  and 
while  this  request  was  not  granted,  the  legislature  authorized 
the  treasurer  to  subscribe  $1,000,000  stock  in  behalf  of  the  state, 
and  in  1838  the  state  pledged  its  credit  to  the  extent  of  $2,100,- 
000  more  in  behalf  of  the  enterprise.  Again  in  1839  the  state 
in  the  same  manner  contributed  $1,200,000,  and  finally,  in  1841, 
gave  $700,000  more  with  which  the  road  was  completed. 

During  the  years  1838-40  the  work  of  construction  was 
pushed  vigorously,  and  with  the  contribution  of  money  by  the 
state  in  1841  the  road  was  finished  to  the  New  York  state  line. 
On  May  24  the  road  was  opened  to  Chester,  and  on  October  4, 

(      180      ) 


EAILBOADS 

followiug,  the  entire  road  from  the  Connecticut  to  the  state  line 
was  ready  for  business.  The  long  bridge  across  the  river  at 
Springfield  was  finished  July  i,  1841,  and  cost  $131,612.12.  (The 
present  bridge  was  erected  in  1872,  at  a  cost  of  $262,000.)  That 
part  of  the  road  between  Albany  and  the  junction  of  the  Hud- 
son and  Berkshire  roads,  at  Chatham  Four  Corners,  was  com- 
pleted and  opened  December  21,  1841,  on  which  day  trains  be- 
gan running  between  Boston  and  Albany,  on  the  longest  continu- 
ous line  of  railway  then  in  operation  in  the  United  States. 

The  completion  of  the  railroad  Avas  an  event  of  great  impor- 
tance in  the  history  of  Springfield,  the  central  point  between  the 
termini  of  the  line.  At  that  time  the  town  had  less  than  11,000 
inhabitants,  and  while  the  population  during  the  next  ten  years 
increased  hardly  more  than  1,000,  every  business  enterprise  was 
enhanced  in  value.  When  it  was  finally  decided  to  build  the 
road  through  the  town,  and  all  doubts  on  the  subject  were  re- 
moved, there  was  an  exciting  time  in  real  estate  circles  in  the 
locality  and  charges  of  manipulation  and  unfairness  were  made 
in  certain  quarters ;  but  whatever  ill  feelings  may  have  been  en- 
gendered, they  soon  gave  way  in  the  general  prosperity,  and 
contentment  prevailed  in  every  circle  of  domestic  life. 

When  completed  and  in  operation  the  line  of  railroad  be- 
tween Boston  and  Albany  was  owned  by  three  corporations,  and 
the  division  of  revenue  soon  gave  rise  to  difficulties,  to  the  injury 
of  all  concerned  through  loss  of  business.  The  only  satisfac- 
tory settlement  of  this  condition  of  affairs  lay  in  consolidation 
of  interests,  and  on  December  1,  1867,  the  Boston  and  Albany 
railroad  company  was  the  result.  This  company  operated  the 
road  until  January,  1901,  when,  with  its  branches,  it  passed  by 
lease  into  the  hands  of  the  Central  Hudson,  or  Vanderbilt,  sys- 
tem. 

The  Hartford  and  Springfield  railroad  corporation,  now  a 
part  of  the  great  New  York,  New  Haven  and  Hartford  system, 
was  chartered  April  5,  1839,  with  $300,000  capital,  and  author- 
ity to  build  and  maintain  a  railroad  from  Chicopee  river,  in  the 
tow^n  of  Springfield,  to  the  south  line  of  Massachusetts,  there  to 
meet  a  line  of  road  owned  by  a  Connecticut  corporation.       The 

(      181      ) 


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RAILROADS 

incorporators  were  Charles  Stearns,  George  Dwiglit,  Stephen 
0.  Kussel  and  George  Bliss,  and  their  associates.  The  road  was 
opened  in  1844,  but  the  part  north  of  the  Western  railroad  was 
not  built.  In  the  same  year  the  stockholders  of  the  Hartford 
and  New  Haven  company,  a  Connecticut  corporation,  were  au- 
thorized to  acquire  stock  in  the  Hartford  and  Springfield  com- 
pany, which  being  done  the  name  of  the  latter  changed  to  New 
Haven  and  Springfield  company.  In  1845  the  name  changed 
to  New  Haven,  Hartford  and  Springfield,  and  in  1847  to  Hart- 
ford and  New  Haven  company.  On  April  5,  1872,  the  road 
consolidated  with  other  lines,  upon  which  the  corporation  be- 
came known  as  the  New  York,  New  Haven  and  Hartford  rail- 
road company. 

The  completion  of  this  road  opened  communication  with  the 
large  cities  of  Connecticut— Hartford  and  New  Haven— and 
also  gave  Springfield  direct  trade  with  New  York  city  as  well  as 
indirect  advantages  of  ocean  commerce.  Next  to  the  AVestern 
railroad  it  ranked  in  importance  in  promoting  local  interests, 
and  in  later  years  it  has  been  a  question  whether  the  road  down 
the  valley  has  not  been  a  more  benefit  to  business  interests  in 
Springfield  than  the  old  line. 

The  Northampton  and  Springfield  railroad  company— a 
part  of  the  now  known  Boston  and  Maine  system — was  incor- 
porated March  1,  1842,  with  $400,000  capital,  and  with  authority 
to  build  and  operate  a  railroad  from  a  point  within  one  mile  of 
the  court  house  in  Northampton,  crossing  the  Connecticut  river 
near  Mt.  Holyoke  and  passing  down  the  east  side  thereof  through 
Hadley,  South  Hadley  and  Springfield  to  meet  the  track  of  the 
Hartford  and  Springfield  road  near  Cabotville;  or  to  diverge 
from  this  line  in  South  Hadley  and  pass  over  the  ''Plain"  and 
Chicopee  river,  near  the  falls,  and  unite  with  the  Western  rail- 
road east  of  the  depot  in  Springfield.  The  incorporators  named 
in  the  act  were  John  Clark,  Samuel  L.  Hinckley,  Stephen  Brewer, 
Jonathan  H.  Butler,  Winthrop  Hillyer  and  their  associates.  In 
1845  the  company  w^as  authorized  to  change  the  route  of  the  road, 
cross  the  Connecticut  at  Willimansett  and  to  extend  a  branch  to 
Chicopee  Falls. 

(      183      ) 


01 R  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

The  road  was  built  and  put  in  operation  about  1847.  It 
was  and  is  an  important  link  in  the  chain  of  railroads  through 
the  Connecticut  valley,  and  has  brought  much  trade  to  Spring- 
field from  Northampton  and  other  localities  in  Hampshire  and 
Franklin  counties.  In  later  years  the  road  passed  through 
various  changes  and  ultimately  became  a  part  of  the  Boston  and 
Maine  system. 

Next  in  the  order  of  incorporation  was  the  INIt.  Holyoke 
railroad  company,  chartered  by  the  legislature  May  27,  1846, 
with  $200,000  capital.  This  road,  according  to  the  description 
of  its  proposed  route  in  the  creating  act,  was  to  start  in  Hock- 
anum.  and  thence  pass  through  Hadley,  South  Hadley  and  a 
part  of  the  town  of  Springfield  to  a  point  near  "Willimansett,  in 
what  now  is  the  town  of  Chicopee.  Only  a  small  part  of  this 
road  Avas  located  in  Hampden  county,  and  as  a  factor  in  local 
history  it  had  little  importance,  hence  not  more  than  a  passing 
allusion  to  it  is  necessary  in  this  chapter. 

The  New  London,  Willimantic  and  Palmer  railroad  com- 
pany was  incorporated  April  10,  1848,  as  a  part  of  a  line  of  roads 
intended  to  extend  from  New  London,  Conn.,  into  the  upper 
Connecticut  valley,  between  Vermont  and  New  Hampshire.  The 
act  creating  the  company  named  Andrew  W.  Porter,  Franklin 
Newell,  Elisha  Converse.  Sylvester  Parks  and  AVilliam  N.  Flynt 
as  incorporators,  they  being  the  chief  promoters  of  the  enter- 
prise. The  capital  of  the  company  was  $200,000,  with  which 
it  was  proposed  to  build  the  road  from  Palmer  through  Monson 
to  the  state  line,  and  there  unite  with  a  road  to  be  built  to  that 
point  by  a  Connecticut  company.  In  1847  the  New  London, 
Willimantic  and  Springfield  railroad  company  Avas  incorporated 
for  the  purpose  of  building  a  road  from  New  London  to  Spring- 
field, but  in  the  next  year  a  new  act  and  new  company  changed 
the  route  to  Palmer.  The  road  was  opened  in  1849-50.  being 
completed  to  Palmer  September  20,  of  the  latter  year.  Subse- 
quently it  became  a  part  of  the  N.  L.  &.  N.  R.  R.  company's  line, 
and  still  later  was  operated  as  part  of  the  Central  Vermont  sys- 
tem. The  New  London  and  Northern  company  was  chartered 
in  Massachusetts  in  1860. 

(      184      ) 


EAILROADS 

The  Indian  Orchard  railroad  company,  whose  line  subse- 
(luently  became  one  of  the  branches  of  the  Boston  and  Albany, 
was  incorporated  May  1,  1849,  with  $50,000  capital,  by  Warren 
Delano,  jr..  Timothy  W.  Carter,  Addison  Ware  and  Frederick 
A.  Barton,  "and  their  associates,"  with  authority  to  build  a  rail- 
road "from  some  convenient  point  on  the  land  of  the  Indian  Or- 
chard canal  company^  upon  or  near  the  southerly  side  of  Chico- 
pee  river,  in  the  town  of  Springfield,  passing  in  the  most  con- 
venient and  feasible  direction  to  the  Western  railroad  within 
said  town  of  Springfield,  uniting  with  said  Western  railroad  at 
a  point  within  two  miles  of  the  93d  milestone  upon  said  Western 
railroad. ' ' 

The  Springfield  and  Longmeadow  railroad  company,  uow 
known  as  the  Springfield  branch  of  the  N.  Y.,  N.  H.  &  H.  system, 
was  incorporated  INIay  2.  1849,  by  John  Mills,  Marvin  Chapin, 
Caleb  Rice,  George  Bliss  and  Willis  Phelps,  the  latter  being  the 
leading  spirit  of  the  enterprise.  The  capital  stock  was  $150,- 
000,  and  while  the  organizers  unquestionably  acted  in  perfect 
good  faith  and  by  their  efforts  built  a  line  of  road  through  a  fer- 
tile agricultural  country,  later  events  proved  that  the  same 
should  not  have  been  opened.  Under  the  charter  the  company 
was  authorized  to  build  and  operate  a  line  of  railroad  from 
"some  convenient  point  on  the  Western  railroad  (the  company 
chose  Springfield)  southeasterly  to  the  line  of  the  state  at  the 
south  line  of  the  east  parish  of  Longmeadow."  At  this  point 
the  road  united  with  that  of  a  Connecticut  company,  and  was 
continued  southerly  to  Hartford.  By  an  act  passed  May  26, 
1869,  the  name  was  changed  to  Springfield  and  New  London 
railroad  company. 

The  Amherst  and  Belchertown  railroad  company  was  incor- 
porated May  24,  1851,  by  Edward  Hitchcock,  Itharaar  Conkey, 
Edward  Dickinson,  Myron  Lawrence,  Luke  Sweetser  and  others, 
for  the  purpose  of  constructing  a  railroad  from  the  depot  in 
Palmer  north  to  the  road  of  the  Vermont  and  INIassachusetts 
company.      In  1852  the  stockholders  of  the  New  London,  Willi- 

'^The  Indian   Orchard  canal  company   was  incorporated   Marcli   10.   1887.   to 
create  a  water  power  for  manufacturing  purposes  in  the  town  of  Springfield. 

(      185      ) 


OJJR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

mantic  and  Palmer  eoiiipany  were  authorized  to  purchase  stock 
in  the  new  company,  which  was  the  beginning  of  a  process  of  ab- 
sorption. In  1853  the  road  was  opened  from  Palmer  to  Amherst, 
and  in  1860  the  name  of  the  operating  company  became  known 
as  the  New  London  and  Northern.  With  other  parts  of  the  con- 
tinuous line  the  Amherst  and  Belehertown  road  was  subse- 
quently leased  to  the  Central  Vermont  company. 

The  Ware  River  railroad  company  was  originally  incorpor- 
ated May  24,  1851,  by  Charles  Stevens,  Jason  Gorham,  William 
Mixter  and  others,  and  was  authorized  to  build  and  operate  a 
railroad  from  the  depot  on  the  N.  L.,  W.  &  P.  company  in 
Palmer,  through  and  up  the  valley  of  Ware  river ;  thence  across 
to  the  valley  of  Burntshirt  stream,  and  thence  in  a  northeast 
course  to  meet  the  Monadnock  railroad  on  the  New  Hampshire 
line.  The  capital  of  the  company  was  $800,000.  In  1853  the 
road  was  leased  to  the  connecting  companies,  but  later  on  com- 
plications followed  and  the  charter  practically  was  forfeited. 
After  a  series  of  difficulties  matters  were  adjusted  and  the  legis- 
lature revived  the  old  charter  by  an  act  passed  March  16,  1867. 
Afterward  the  road  Avas  leased  to  the  Boston  and  Albany  com- 
pany, by  which  it  is  now  operated  under  the  name  of  Ware  river 
branch. 

The  Hampden  railroad  company  was  incorporated  May  20, 
1852,  with  $175,000  capital,  by  Abner  Post,  James  Fowler,  Ira 
Yeomans,  jr.,  Matthew  Ives  and  N.  T.  Leonard,  and  was  author- 
ized to  build  a  railroad  from  "some  convenient  point  near  the 
depot  of  the  Western  railroad  in  Westfield,  thence  on  or  near 
the  line  of  the  canal  [the  old  Hampshire  and  Hampden  canal] 
to  the  line  of  Connecticut  at  some  convenient  point  in  Granby. " 

The  old  canal  is  mentioned  elsewhere.  As  a  carrier  sys- 
tem it  passed  out  of  existence  about  1847,  being  compelled  to  sus- 
pend operations  by  the  overpoM^ering  competition  of  the  railroad 
running  through  the  Connecticut  valley.  In  order  to  replace 
the  canal  with  modern  means  of  transportation  a  railroad  was 
laid  out  on  substantially  the  same  course.  South  of  Granby 
the  road  Avas  built  by  a  Connecticut  corporation.  The  Hamp- 
den railroad  was  built  between  1853  and  1856,  but  before  comple- 
tion it  merged  in  the  Hampshire  and  Hampden  company. 

(      186      ) 


RAILROADS 

The  Noi'tliamptou  and  AYestfield  railroad  company  was  in- 
corporated May  22,  1852,  with  $200,000  capital,  by  Samuel  Wil- 
liston,  John  Clarke,  Noah  L.  Strong,  Ira  Yeomans,  jr.,  Alfred 
L.  Strong  and  others,  and  with  authority  to  build  and  operate 
a  railroad  from  some  point  in  Northampton,  through  that  town, 
also  through  Easthampton,  Southampton  and  Westfield  to  a 
point  on  the  Western  railroad  in  the  town  last  mentioned. 

This  road  was  a  continuation  of  the  Hampden  road  by  a 
separate  corporation.  In  the  meantime  another  railroad  north 
of  Northampton  had  been  put  in  operation,  and  by  an  act  of  the 
legislature  passed  May  25,  1853,  the  three  companies,  the  Hamp- 
shire &  Hampden,  the  Northampton  &  AVesttield  and  the  North- 
ampton &  Shelburne  Falls,  were  consolidated  under  the  name 
of  the  Hampshire  and  Hampden  railroad  company.  In  1857 
this  company  was  united  with  the  Connecticut  river  road,  and 
still  later  was  constituted  a  part  of  the  N.  Y.,  N.  H.  &  H. 

The  Springfield  and  Farmington  valley  railroad  company 
was  incorporated  May  16,  1856,  with  $300,000  capital,  by  James 
M.  Blanchard,  Edward  Southworth,  Willis  Phelps,  Samuel  Day, 
Caleb  Rice  and  others,  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  railroad 
from  the  terminus  of  the  Farmington  valley  road  in  Connecti- 
cut, through  Southwick,  Feeding  Hills,  Mitteneague  and  West 
Springfield  to  a  point  in  Springfield  near  the  Western  depot. 

The  Holyoke  and  Westfield  railroad  company  was  incor- 
porated June  12,  1869,  by  J.  C.  Parsons  and  Edwin  Chase  of 
Holyoke,  and  Curtis  Laflin,  of  Westfield,  for  the  purpose  of 
building  a  railroad  from  Holyoke  to  Westfield  for  the  benefit  of 
manufacturing  interests  of  the  former  city,  whose  owners  pre- 
ferred not  to  be  limited  to  a  single  line  of  railway  in  shipping 
their  products  to  market.  The  road  was  built  in  1871  and  for 
years  Avas  operated  by  the  New  Haven  &  Northampton  company. 
It  now  forms  a  part  of  the  N.  Y.,  N.  H.  &  H. 

The  Springfield  and  Athol  railroad  company  was  incorpor- 
ated May  12,  1871,  by  Abner  B.  Abbe,  Henry  W.  Phelps,  Eze- 
kiel  Blake  and  others,  who,  with  $300,000  capital,  proposed  to 
extend  the  Athol  and  Enfield  road  to  Springfield.  On  INIarch  20, 
1872,  the  Athol  &  Enfield  company  was  authorized  to  extend  its 

(      187      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

road  to  the  city,  which  action  was  the  result  of  a  union  of  inter- 
ests; and  in  1873  the  legislature  changed  the  name  of  the  con- 
solidated companies  to  Springfield,  Athol  and  Northeastern.  The 
road  from  Barrett's  Junction  to  Springfield  was  built  in  1873. 
The  entire  road  is  now  operated  as  the  Athol  branch  of  the  Bos- 
ton &  Albany. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

CONNECTICUT  RIVER  NAVIGATION 

If  it  were  possible  at  this  day  to  narrate  every  interesting 
event  in  connection  with  the  numerous  attempts  to  establish  a 
profitable  system  of  navigation  on  the  Connecticut,  this  chapter 
would  begin  with  the  voyage  of  Governor  AYinthrop's  sailing 
vessel  up  the  river  in  1636,  when  ^Ir.  Pynehon's  planters  shipped 
their  effects  from  Roxbury  to  their  future  home  on  the  site  of 
Springfield.  How  the  master  of  the  vessel  ever  succeeded  in 
safely  passing  the  rapids  and  rocks  and  shoals  in  the  river  at 
Windsor  and  Enfield,  no  chronicler  of  past  history  has  been  kind 
enough  to  inform  us,  yet  they  did  accomplish  the  task  and  safely 
landed  the  cargo  at  its  destination  without  unseemly  delay. 

Within  two  years  after  this  event  another  of  almost  equal 
importance  took  place,  and  likewise  was  successfully  accom- 
plished. It  will  be  remembered  that  after  the  Pequot  war  the 
planters  living  in  the  lower  Connecticut  valley  were  reduced  to 
great  want,  and  that  Captain  Mason  visited  the  plantation  then 
called  Agawam,  where  dwelt  Mr.  Pynehon's  colony,  and  re- 
quested that  he  be  supplied  with  much  needed  articles  of  food. 
But  unfortunately  the  planters  had  not  enough  food  supply  for 
their  own  wants,  upon  which  Captain  IVIason  proceeded  up  the 
river  to  the  Indian  village  of  Pocomtuck  (Deerfield),  where  he 
bargained  with  the  natives  for  an  abundant  supply  of  corn. 
Having  completed  the  purchase  the  grain  Avas  laden  in  fifty 
canoes  and  the  entire  fleet  passed  down  the  river  to  the  settle- 
ments of  the  whites  in  the  Connecticut  colonies. 

(      188      ) 


CONNECTICUT  FIVER  NAVIGATION 

This  notable  event  early  in  Massachusetts  history  cannot  be 
regarded  as  an  attempt  at  river  navigation  on  the  Connecticut, 
but  it  was  a  primitive  beginning  in  that  direction.  The  Indians 
from  time  immemorial  had  used  the  river  as  an  avenue  of  travel 
betAveen  the  upper  and  loAver  portions  of  the  valley,  and  for  a 
number  of  years  after  they  were  forcibly  driven  from  the  region 
they  frequently  returned  to  their  favorite  haunts  and  sought  to 
repossess  the  country.  They  loved  the  river  and  were  at  per- 
fect ease  in  paddling  their  frail  canoes  over  its  waters,  yet  the 
white-faced  pioneer  who  came  to  till  the  soil  naturally  shrank 
from  the  use  of  the  river  for  purposes  other  than  those  actually 
required  of  him.  To  him  it  was  a  stream  too  large  for  con- 
venient and  safe  use,  and  it  was  not  until  the  valley  was  well 
settled  that  river  navigation  for  commercial  purposes  was 
thought  of,  and  when  the  first  attempts  were  made  in  this  direc- 
tion serious  obstacles  were  to  be  removed  and  overcome. 

That  the  Connecticut  river  never  has  been  made  generally 
navigable  for  steam  craft  for  commercial  purposes  has  occasioned 
considerable  comment  among  persons  not  acquainted  with  the 
history  of  the  valley  country.  In  early  times  the  lumbermen  of 
the  upper  valley  regions  rafted  logs  and  lumber  down  its  waters 
to  market,  but  they  did  so  frequently  at  the  hazard  of  their  lives 
and  property,  as  rafts  sometimes  were  broken  in  making  the  falls 
and  rapids  of  Hadley  and  Enfield.  Mr.  Dewey,  in  his  article 
on  "Early  Navigation,"  informs  us  that  as  early  as  1790  the 
Hollanders  built  a  canal  at  South  Hadley  Falls,  and  passed 
boats  "up  and  down  on  an  inclined  plane."  It  was  a  slow 
process,  not  free  from  risk,  and  while  sufficient  for  the  time  it 
had  not  the  capacity  to  carry  large  boats.  According  to  Mr. 
Dewey's  description,  the  upAvard  passage  of  the  canal  was 
etfected  by  placing  a  large  triangular  box  under  the  boat  and 
drawing  it  forward  through  the  canal  by  means  of  a  cable  or 
rope,  using  a  horse  windlass  or  "sweep"  for  power. 

In  this  primitive  fashion  a  boat  of  light  draught  might  pass 
the  falls  at  South  Hadley,  and  a  like  canal  at  the  upper  falls 
allowed  passage  at  that  point.  But  the  results  as  a  whole  were 
unsatisfactory.       Lower  down  the  river,  in  the  vicinity  of  En- 

(      189      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

field,  and  also  at  AVindsor,  obstructions  similar  to  those  at  Had- 
ley  prevented  the  free  passage  of  boats,  and  the  people  of  Con- 
necticut were  slow  to  improve  the  channel  for  the  purpose  of 
navigation.  And  here  it  may  be  said  with  much  truth  that  had 
that  state  made  a  determined  effort  to  free  the  river  from  ob- 
structions the  stream  now  would  be  navigable  for  vessels  of  mod- 
erate draught  as  far  north  as  the  great  dam  at  Holyoke.  It  is 
only  within  the  last  score  or  so  of  years  that  Connecticut  has 
taken  steps  to  improve  its  harbors  along  Long  Island  sound, 
while  neither  state  nor  national  assistance  has  been  asked  for  the 
improvement  of  the  great  Connecticut  river,  a  natural  avenue 
of  trade  and  commerce  far  superior  to  many  rivers  of  the  South 
upon  which  millions  of  dollars  have  been  expended  in  making 
them  navigable. 

In  his  reminiscences  of  early  navigation  on  the  river,  Mr. 
Dewey  says:  "In  the  early  part  of  the  present  [nineteenth] 
century,  and  before  the  locks  and  canal  at  Enfield  were  built,  the 
boats  used  for  the  transportation  of  freight  were  quite  small.  A 
ten-ton  boat  was  considered  a  large  one  at  that  time.  These 
boats,  bound  for  Springfield,  or  above,  were  propelled,  unless  the 
wind  was  favorable  for  sailing,  by  the  laborious  process  of  pol- 
ing. A  number  of  men,  called  fallsmen,  kept  themselves  in 
readiness  at  the  foot  of  the  falls,  that  is,  Warehouse  Point,  to 
assist  in  'polling  over  the  falls'— the  boats  carrying  six  or  eight 
tons.  The  article  of  rum  constituted  quite  a  proportion  of  the 
freight  in  those  days. ' ' 

"During  these  years  of  boating  over  Enfield  falls,  the  'John 
Cooley  boating  company'  was  formed,  consisting  of  John  Cooley, 
Hosea  Day,  Roderick  Palmer,  Henry  Palmer,  James  Brewer 
and  the  Messrs.  Dwight,  of  Springfield.  A  few  years  after  (in 
1820),  Edmund  and  Frederick  Palmer  and  Roderick  Ashley 
joined  the  company,  afterwards  Sylvester  Day  and  the  INIessrs. 
Stebbins." 

"The  locks  and  canal  at  Enfield  Avere  built  in  1826.  and 
thereafter  the  freight  boats  began  to  increase  in  size  till  at  last 
the  capacity  of  some  of  the  Springfield  boats  reached  sixty  or 
seventy  tons.      But  before  this  time  a  trial  of  steamboating  was 

(      190      ) 


CONXECTICIT  KIVER  X  AY  WAT  ION 

made.  A  company  was  formed  for  the  purpose  of  the  naviga- 
tion of  the  river  above  Hartford,  and  bore  the  name  of  the  'Con- 
necticut river  valley  steamboat  company.'  Its  members  chiefly 
resided  in  Hartford,  although  a  few  were  scattered  along  the  line 
of  the  river.  Charles  Stearns,  of  Springfield,  was  a  member; 
also  Gen.  David  Culver,  of  Lyme,  N.  H.,  who  afterward  became 
an  active  partner  in  the  boating  company  of  'Stockbridge,  Cul- 
ver &  Co.'  and  the  inventor  of  a  number  of  improvements  in 
boating  machinery. ' ' 

From  the  narrative  referred  to  it  seems  that  the  steamboat 
company  continued  operations  only  one  season,  running  the 
"Barnet, "  a  small  side-wheeled,  high-pressure  boat  of  twenty 
horse  power,  under  Captain  Nutt,  master.  In  1830,  Colonel 
Clinton,  son  of  De  Witt  Clinton,  ran  a  steamboat  on  the  river, 
and  on  July  4,  1832,  one  account  says  that  Dr.  Dean  was  drowned 
from  the  "Adam  Duncan."  In  1831  the  "John  Ledyard"  was 
put  on  the  river. 

Steam  navigation  on  the  Connecticut  dates  from  about  1830. 
when  the  Barnet  made  her  initial  trip.  The  boat  was  capable 
of  running  five  miles  an  hour  up  stream,  and  under  Pilot  Roder- 
ick Palmer,  of  West  Springfield,  made  trips  as  far  north  as  Bel- 
lows Falls,  Vt.,  but  she  could  not  ascend  the  rapids  at  Enfield. 
In  1827  Thomas  Blanchard,  an  employee  at  the  U.  S.  arsenal  at 
Springfield,  an  ingenious  mechanic  having  a  knowledge  of  boat- 
building, built  the  "Blanchard,"  a  side-wheeled  steamer,  and 
made  a  trial  trip  to  Hadley  in  July,  1828.  In  September  he  run 
the  boat  with  an  excursion  party  of  sixtj'  persons  to  Hartford. 

According  to  recognized  authority,  Mr.  Blanchard  engaged 
quite  extensively  in  river  navigation  about  this  time,  though 
with  what  financial  results  is  not  definitely  known.  Following 
his  venture  several  other  boats  were  put  on  the  river,  in  some  of 
which  he  had  an  interest.  One  of  these  was  the  "Springfield," 
(said  to  have  been  the  Blanchard,  rechristened).  Another  was 
the  "Vermont,"  built  in  Springfield  in  1829  for  a  Brattleboro 
company,  and  which  was  drawn  from  the  boat  yard  through 
Main  and  Elm  streets  to  the  foot  of  Harvard  street,  where  it  was 
launched.       The  "Massachusetts"  was  another,  launched  April 

(      191      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

14,  1831,  a  boat  niiiety-six  feet  long  and  the  largest  craft  on  the 
river.  She  Avas  in  service  twelve  years.  Still  another  steamer 
was  the  ''Agawani,"  built  in  Springfield  by  Erastns  Reed,  of 
Longmeadow,  for  Frink,  Chapin  &  Co.,  proprietors  of  the  stage 
line,  who  began  carrying  passengers  to  and  from  Hartford  by 
steamer.  Then  there  was  the  '"Phoenix,"  a  staunch  boat,  whose 
owner's  name  is  not  recalled. 

In  1831  the  "Hampden"  began  running  as  a  freight-towing 
boat,  under  the  proprietorship  of  John  Cooley  &  Co.  The  ' '  Ver- 
mont" began  carrying  passengers  for  Sargent  &  Chapin.  The 
"Wm.  Hall"  also  appeared  as  a  towing  boat  under  the  owner- 
ship of  the  Connecticut  river  valley  steamboat  company,  and 
about  the  same  time  the  "James  Dwight"  made  daily  round  trips 
between  Springfield  and  Hartford.  The  "Franklin"  and  the 
"Eagle"  are  also  to  be  mentioned  among  the  early  boats  on  the 
river  during  what  has  been  termed  the  navigation  period.^ 

It  is  quite  probable  that  during  the  period  in  Avhich  river 
navigation  was  an  established  industry  other  boats  were  built 
and  in  operation  on  the  Connecticut,  but  the  names  of  all  of  them 
cannot  be  recalled  at  this  time.  The  period  referred  to  extended 
from  about  1828  to  about  1850,  when  the  newly  built  Hartford 
and  Springfield  railroad  superseded  steamboating  as  a  carrier 
system  just  as  effectually  and  more  permanently  than  the  latter 
did  the  old  stage  lines.  In  later  years  both  freight  and  passen- 
ger boats  Avere  kept  running  Avith  some  attempt  at  regularity,  but 
the  results  from  a  business  vieAv  Avere  not  fully  satisfactory.  The 
sound  steamers  came  up  the  river  as  far  as  Hartford,  but  could 
not  pass  Enfield  in  safety,  and  Avhen  the  railroad  system  betAveen 
Springfield  and  New  Haven  Avas  in  complete  operation  there  was 
a  rapid  decline  in  river  navigation.      HoAvever,  betAveen  North- 

^Alonzo  Converse  is  our  authority  for  the  statement  that  the  tirm  of  Cooley 
&  Co.  at  one  time  had  as  many  as  seven  or  eight  transportation  boats  on  the 
river,  while  Converse  &  Co.  had  as  many  more.  The  firm  first  mentioned  com- 
l)rised  John  Cooley,  Edmund  Palmer,  Frederick  Palmer,  Daniel  Kly  and  a  Mr. 
Day.  Converse  &  Co.  comprised  Isaac  Converse,  Henry  Palmer,  Horace  Har- 
mon and  George  Douglas.  Our  informant  also  says  (and  what  he  says  may  be 
regarded  as  reliable)  that  both  companies  did  a  paying  business  on  the  river 
until  184.">,  or  thereabouts,  and  that  then  they  were  "bought  off"  by  the  rail- 
road company. 

(        192        ) 


•?    ■«    5 


S:     « 


s     * 


<  -s 


1-13 


01 R  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

ampton  aud  Hartford  steamers    for    pleasure    purposes    have 
always  been  run  on  the  river. 

THE  SHAD  FISHERIES 

It  is  sometimes  difficult  to  believe  that  a  pursuit  so  promis- 
ing of  permanent  substantial  results  could  have  been  completely 
destroyed  as  were  the  shad  fisheries  which  were  so  famous  in  the 
Connecticut  river  region  previous  to  the  construction  of  the  dam 
at  Enfield.  Every  citizen  of  Hampden  county  is  well  aware  of 
the  fact  that  shad  in  large  quantities  at  one  time  were  taken 
from  the  river,  but  it  is  not  generally  understood  that  the  estab- 
lished fisheries  along  that  stream  once  constituted  an  important 
industry  in  the  region. 

Whoever  has  read  the  earlier  chapters  of  this  work  has 
learned  that  the  Indians  of  Western  Massachusetts  dwelt  in  the 
Connecticut  valley  chiefly  on  account  of  the  multitude  of  sal- 
mon and  shad  that  inhabited  the  waters  of  the  region,  and  also 
that  when  driven  from  the  country  as  a  result  of  their  own  base 
treachery  and  ingratitude,  they  sought  again  to  be  permitted  to 
return  and  live  in  the  locality  of  their  old  fishing  grounds.  Dur- 
ing King  Philip's  war  the  half-starved  Avarriors  who  were  allied 
to  that  merciless  savage  were  beaten  back  from  the  frontier  set- 
tlements and  found  refuge  in  the  upper  part  of  the  province  in 
the  region  where  fish  did  most  abound.  When  the  first  whites 
came  into  the  valley  to  locate  the  sites  for  their  proposed  future 
abode,  they  soon  discovered  that  the  waters  of  the  Connecticut 
and  its  principal  tributaries  were  plentifully  stocked  with  sal- 
mon and  shad — the  most  nutritous  of  table  fish  known  at  that 
time— and  reported  the  fact  to  the  eastern  planters  as  an  argu- 
ment in  favor  of  settling  a  colony  in  the  new  region.  And  when 
the  settlements  were  founded  the  products  of  the  streams  were 
more  frequently  an  article  of  daily  food  than  meat  of  either  do- 
mestic or  wild  animals. 

From  about  1675  to  about  1845  fishing  was  an  established 
industry  in  Hampden  county,  or  the  region  that  in  1812  became 
so  named.  At  first  the  towns  under  the  laws  of  the  general 
court  regulated  the  fishing  privileges  in  the  smaller  streams,  and 

(      194      ) 


COXNECTICUr  FIVER  NAVIGATION 

in  1677  the  town  of  Springfield  voted  that  "Goodman"  Lamb, 
Joseph  Crowfoot,  Sergeant  INIorgan,  John  Clarke,  senior,  and 
Charles  Ferry,  "with  snch  others  as  they  shall  take  with  them," 
be  granted  license  to  fish  in  the  Chicopee  river  from  the  falls  to 
the  month  of  the  stream.  The  town  also  fixed  the  price  to  be 
charged  for  fish  sold  among  the  settlers,  viz. :  For  fresh  sal- 
mon at  the  river,  6d.,  in  the  village  Sd.  For  fresh  shad  a  half 
penny  at  the  river  and  one  penny  in  the  village.  The  price  of 
salt  (packed  or  preserved  for  later  use  or  shipment)  fish  was 
fixed  at  12c?.  for  "all  that  shall  be  transported." 

The  Westfield  river,  as  far  up  as  the  point  called  Salmon 
falls,  was  long  noted  for  its  abundance  of  salmon  and  shad.  In- 
deed, Salmon  falls  was  so  named  in  allusion  to  one  of  these  spe- 
cies of  fish,  which  once  swarmed  in  its  waters.  According  to 
established  records,  in  1685  Deacon  Burt,  Miles  Morgan,  Thomas 
Mirrick  (Merrick)  and  their  associates  were  licensed  to  take  fish 
from  the  waters  of  Agawam  (Westfield)  river,  and  also  from  the 
€hicopee ;  and  in  1687  Henry  Chapin  was  granted  the  privilege 
of  fishing  in  Chicopee  river,  "so  far  as  Schonungonuck  fal  or 
"bar,"  undoubtedly  meaning  the  falls  of  Chicopee  river.  These 
pioneer  fishermen  were  allowed  to  construct  "wards"  for  taking 
fish. 

Throughout  the  entire  period  of  the  eighteenth  century,  and 
during  the  first  forty  years  of  the  nineteenth,  the  Connecticut 
river  was  famous  for  its  shad  fisheries.  In  1793  the  dam  at 
Turner's  Falls  was  built,  and  thereafter  the  fish  could  not  pass 
above  that  barrier.  About  three  years  later  a  dam  was  con- 
structed across  the  river  at  South  Hadley,  and  afterward  fishing 
for  the  market  was  confined  to  points  south  of  that  place.  The 
business  was  prosecuted  with  vigor  until  the  construction  of  the 
dam  at  Enfield,  which  soon  entirely  shut  off  the  industry  in 
Hampden  county. 

In  Connecticut  river  the  shad  survived  the  salmon  many 
years,  but  why  this  was  so  is  not  satisfactorily  explained  by  any 
authority  on  the  subject.  They  disappeared  from  the  river  soon 
after  1800,  and  when  about  1820  a  seven-pound  salmon  was  taken 
in  the  net  of  Haynes  &  Durfee,  at  Black  point,  in  Agawam,  it 

(      195      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

was  I'egai-ded  as  a  remarkable  event  and  was  heralded  through- 
out the  valley  as  a  wonderful  piece  of  news. 

In  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  century  and  until  shad 
fishing  was  suspended.  Black  point  and  Lancton's,  both  on  the 
Agawam  side  of  the  river,  were  noted  fishing  grounds.  Here 
Isaac  Convene  carried  on  fishing  soon  after  1812,  and  in  later 
years  his  son,  Alonzo  Converse,  also  Isaac  A.  Converse  (son  of 
Alonzo),  Seth  Lancton,  Haynes  &  Durfee,  Frank  and  James 
Leonard  carried  on  the  same  business.  During  the  palmy  days 
of  the  industry  an  average  haul  of  the  seine  would  yield  from 
400  to  500  shad,  weighing  from  four  to  five  pounds  each,  and 
w^orth  in  the  market  about  ten  cents  apiece ;  and  there  was  always 
a  ready  cash  market  for  fish  in  Springfield,  where  they  were 
packed  and  shipped  all  over  the  country. 

Alonzo  Converse  was  born  in  Agawam  in  1813,  and  from 
boyhood  until  the  fishing  period  was  passed  he  followed  that  pur- 
suit. He  knew  the  river  from  Holyoke  to  Saybrook,  and  was 
regarded  as  one  of  the  best  and  safest  pilots  in  the  Connecticut 
valley.  He  attributes  the  decline  of  the  shad  fishery  to  two 
causes — the  construction  of  the  dam  at  Enfield  and  the  un- 
restricted use  of  gill-nets  at  points  south  of  the  Massachusetts 
line. 

The  next  good  fishing  ground  above  Black  point  was  at  Pe- 
cowsic  hollow^  between  the  mouth  of  Pecowsic  brook  and  the 
South  End  bridge.  Here  the  land  was  owned  by  a  Mr.  Combs, 
who  sold  the  "fishing  rights"^  to  Mr.  Converse  and  Mr.  Lom- 
bard, Opposite  Pecowsic  hollow,  on  the  Agawam  side  of  the 
river,  was  an  excellent  ground  known  as  "sucker  point."  This 
place  was  fished  by  the  owner,  Mr.  Wolcott,  and  his   help.       A 

^Fishing  rights  were  sold  and  not  given  to  whomsoever  might  come.  The 
owner  of  the  land  had  the  first  and  absolute  right  to  fish  in  the  river  opposite 
his  premises,  but  in  case  he  saw  fit  he  might  sell  that  right  to  the  best  customer. 
Usually  the  rights  were  sold  to  two  companies  (five  men  were  necessary  to  haul 
a  seine  properly),  and  while  one  company  was  drawing  in  its  net  with  the 
"catch,"  the  other  would  swing  its  seine  into  the  water.  Fishing  rights  cost 
from  $300  to  .$400  each,  according  to  the  quality  of  the  fishing  ground.  Mr, 
Converse  paid  for  his  two  rights  about  $700.  The  fishing  season  began  about 
April  15,  and  closed  June  1.  After  paying  help  and  all  other  expenses  a  fair 
season  would  yield  the  owner  of  a  fishing  right  about  $500. 

(      196      ) 


CONNECTICUT  lUVER  NAVIGATION 

little  further  up,  still  on  the  west  side  and  about  opposite  the 
foot  of  York  street,  was  a  reasonably  fair  fishing  ground  known 
locally  as  "Redgill's, "  where  Isaac  Converse  owned  the  fishing 
right.  Just  above  the  "toll  bridge"  (the  old  covered  bridge 
at  the  foot  of  Bridge  street,  in  Springfield),  on  the  city  side  of 
the  river,  was  "Beebe's"  fishing  grounds,  good  only  for  the 
early  part  of  the  season.  It  was  a  part  of  the  Stebbins 
property  and  was  fished  by  the  owner.  Jnst  below  the  North 
End  bridge,  on  the  West  Springfield  side,  was  the  "Beebe  fish- 
ing place,"  a  fair  producer  in  a  good  season.  Above  Beebe's, 
"under  the  hill,"  as  locally  described,  was  another  good  fishing 
place,  owned  and  carried  on  by  Mr.  White  (probably  Daniel 
White).  On  the  east  side  of  the  river,  about  opposite  River- 
dale,  was  the  once  famous  "double  ditch,"  where  extensive  fish- 
ing operations  were  carried  on  by  Ruell  Cooley  and  Francis 
Brewer  and  brothers.  This  was  an  exceptionally  good  ground, 
and  in  one  day  Cooley  caught  1,800  shad,  which  then  was  re- 
garded as'an  unusual  yield.  A  little  farther  up,  on  the  west 
side,  in  a  bend  in  the  river,  about  a  mile  and  one-half  below  Wil- 
limansett,  was  a  fishing  place  owned  by  one  Day  (probably  Syl- 
vester), a  man  eighty  years  old,  but  a  famous  waterman  three- 
quarters  of  a  century  ago.  Above  this  point  there  was  no  fish- 
ing ground  of  any  consequence,  except  at  South  Hadley  Falls, 
on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  where  the  fish  gathered  in  immense 
numbers  vainly  striving  to  pass  over  the  dam.  The  largest 
single  haul  made  at  this  place  was  2.000  shad. 


(      1^7      ) 


CHAPTER  XV 

HAMPDEN    COUNTY    IN    THE    WAR    OF    1861-65 
BY    JAMES    L.    BOWEN 

The  record  of  Massachusetts  in  the  war  for  the  preservation 
of  the  Union,  from  1861  to  1865,  was  in  keeping  with  its  proud 
prestige  among  the  states  composing  the  nation,  and  one  of 
Avhieh  all  who  love  its  good  name  may  justly  feel  proud.  In  the 
field  as  in  legislative  halls,  in  conflict  on  land  and  sea,  as  in  coun- 
cil chambers,  the  sons  of  the  old  Bay  State  were  leaders ;  while 
in  the  blessed  offices  of  mercj'  which  sought  to  alleviate  the  suf- 
ferings of  those  dreadful  years,  and  so  far  as  possible  to  rob  war 
of  its  horrors,  in  Avhatever  way  the  purpose  might  be  advanced, 
the  whole  people,  irrespective  of  age,  sex,  or  social  condition, 
joined  Avith  an  exemplary  energy. 

Before  the  inauguration  of  Governor  Andrew,  January  5, 
1861,  the  war  cloud  grew  threatening,  and  thoughtful  men  be- 
gan to  despair  of  averting  an  appeal  to  arms.  Yet  so  dreadful 
seemed  that  alternative  that,  while  nerving  themselves  for  the 
struggle  should  it  come,  the  people  of  the  state  neglected  no 
opportunity  to  urge  conciliation  and  concession,  and  late  in  the 
month  a  petition  bearing  15,000  prominent  names  was  jsent  to 
the  Massachusetts  delegation  in  congress,  urging  conciliatory 
measures.  The  people  were  ready  to  sanction  any  reasonable 
sacrifice  for  the  sake  of  peace,  but  they  were  not  ready  to  see  the 
nation,  in  the  building  of  which  their  fathers  had  borne  so  honor- 
able a  part,  fall  in  I'uins  about  them.  If  that  were  to  be  the 
alternative,  they  would  prove  that  the  sons  were  ready  to  sacri- 
fice for  the  preservation  as  much  as  the  ancestors  for  the  crea- 
tion.      In  his  inaugural  Governor  Andrew  spoke  for  the  whole 

(      198      ) 


Gr.  A.  R.  Building,  Court  Street,  Springfield 


OLE  COUM'Y  AXD  ITS  PEOPLE 

state  when  he  said.  "The  people  will  forever  stand  by  the  coun- 
try.'' And  Adjutant-General  AYilliani  Schouler,  in  responding 
to  a  toast  in  honor  of  Major  Anderson,  while  the  latter  was  be- 
sieged in  Fort  Sumter,  comprehensively  and  eloquently  said : 
"We  have  no  boasts  to  make.  History  tells  what  the  men  of 
Massachusetts  have  done,  and  they  will  never  disgrace  that  his- 
tory." These  calm  utterances  of  earnest  men  Avere  typical  of 
the  invincible  purposes  of  the  loj-al  people  of  the  commonwealth ; 
they  put  into  modest,  candid  words  that  patriotic  determination 
which  led  the  soldiers  of  the  old  Bay  State,  hopeful  and  un- 
shrinking, through  every  disaster  and  discouragement  to  final 
consummation. 

During  the  war  period  the  state  of  Massachusetts  furnished 
for  all  periods  of  service  159,254  soldiers  and  sailors— a  surplus 
over  all  calls  of  13,492,  while  at  least  3,000  enlisted  in  organiza- 
tions of  other  states,  for  which  the  Bay  state  received  no  credit. 
Of  the  officers  and  men  serving  on  the  Massachusetts  quota,  3,543 
were  killed  in  action,  1,986  died  of  wounds,  5,672  of  disease,  1,843 
in  confederate  prisons,  while  1,026  were  missing  and  never  ac- 
counted for — nearly  all  of  whom  no  doubt  lost  their  lives.  In 
this  connection  it  is  but  simple  justice  to  say  that  the  men  of 
Massachusetts  received  from  all  quarters  the  highest  commenda- 
tion for  the  manliness,  courage,  and  intelligence  with  which  they 
bore  the  sufferings  incidental  to  soldier  life,  especially  in  hos- 
pital ;  the  cheerfulness  and  strong  rallying  power  manifested, 
their  prompt  return  to  duty  on  recovery,  their  christian  heroism 
in  meeting  death  when  that  became  the  sad  alternative.  Of 
those  who  returned  to  their  homes,  it  is  equally  gratifying  to 
know  that  their  after  lives  gave  no  indication  of  general  demoral- 
ization from  the  associations  met  during  their  soldier  days. 
Where  the  early  life  gave  good  promise,  it  was  generally  broad- 
ened and  strengthened  by  the  experience,  and  if  there  were 
cases  of  evil  habits  contracted,  so  on  the  other  hand  there  were 
unquestionably  genuine  cases  of  reformation  of  character,  quite 
as  marked  as  the  reverse. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  year  1861  the  militia  force  of  the 
state  consisted  of  about  5,600  officers  and  men,  comprised  in  nine 

(      200      ) 


THE   ^XAIl  OF  1861-65 

regiments,  seven  battalions,  and  thirteen  nnattached  companies. 
Of  this  force  only  one  company— Co.  F,  10th  Infantry,  of 
Springfield— was  located  in  Hampden  county,  which  had  thus 
less  than  one  per  cent,  of  the  militia  force  of  the  state — a  most 
inadequate  pi'oportion  for  a  county  having  approximately  fif- 
teen per  cent,  of  the  population.  But  the  way  for  improvement 
was  opened  by  action  taken  during  the  early  months  of  the  year, 
looking  to  putting  the  state  forces  in  better  condition  to  respond 
to  any  calls  which  might  be  made  by  the  national  government. 

On  the  16th  of  January  a  general  order  was  issued  by  au- 
thority of  the  governor,  directing  that  every  company  be  put 
into  efficient  condition  for  active  service  if  called  upon.  Those 
who  from  age,  physical  defect,  or  other  cause,  were  unable  or 
unwilling  to  serve,  were  to  be  honorably  discharged,  the  com- 
panies were  to  be  recruited  to  the  maxinuun  number,  and  held 
in  readiness  to  answer  any  calls  which  might  be  made  upon 
them.  In  the  early  part  of  February  an  act  passed  the  state 
legislature  authorizing  the  organization  of  "companies  of  artil- 
lery" and  "other  companies,"  on  approval  of  the  governor  and 
council,  all  of  which  were  to  be  disbanded  whenever  the  governor 
or  the  legislature  might  decide  that  their  services  were  no  longer 
required.  Under  this  provision  some  progress  had  been  made 
previous  to  the  firing  on  Fort  Sumter,  April  12,  and  that  event, 
with  the  call  for  75,000  militia  from  the  loyal  states  for  three 
months'  service,  proved  the  signal  for  the  opening  of  recruiting 
oi¥ices  in  every  section  of  the  state.  Hampden  county  was  not 
called  upon  to  help  in  filling  the  militia  quota,  but  its  opportu- 
nity came  with  the  organization  for  the  first  of  the  three-years 
regiments,  and  thereafter  it  performed  nobly  its  part,  every 
town  in  the  county  furnishing  men  in  excess  of  its  quota. 

The  Tenth  Infantry.  — On  the  8d  of  May,  1861,  President 
Lincoln  called  for  some  40.000  volunteers  for  three  years'  ser- 
vice, and  on  the  22d  of  the  month  tardy  permission  was  given  for 
Massachusetts  to  furnish  six  regiments  under  that  call.  The 
10th  regiment  of  militia  was  selected  as  the  basis  for  one  of  these 
volunteer  regiments,  and  Springfield  was  designated  as  its  place 
of  rendezvous :  so  that  this  organization,  the  first   to   leave  the 

(  .   201      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AXD  ITS  PEOPLE 

county  for  the  theatre  of  Avar,  may  properly  be  regarded  as  a 
Hampden  county  command,  althougli  but  four  of  its  ten  com- 
panies were  organized  Avithin  the  county  limits.  Three  com- 
panies came  from  Berkshire  county,  tAA'O  from  Franklin,  and  one 
from  Hampshire,  and  all  had  assembled  at  the  camping  ground 
on  Hampden  park  by  the  16th  of  June.  The  Hampden  county 
companies  consisted  of  E,  recruited  at  Springfield;  F,  the  old 
company  of  that  designation,  but  better  knoA\n  as  the  Spring- 
field city  guard ;  I,  composed  of  recruits  from  AVest  Springfield 
and  Holyoke,  each  of  AA^hich  toAA'ns  had  undertaken  to  raise  a 
company :  and  K,  recruited  at  Westfield.  A  company  recruited 
on  Hampden  park,  Springfield,  by  Oliver  EdAA'ards,  AA^as  dis- 
banded, the  men  being  assigned  to  other  companies  not  filled  to 
the  standard  of  ninety-eight  enlisted  men  each,  and  Captain 
EdAvards  AA'as  gi\'en  the  position  of  adjutant  of  the  10th.  The 
regiment  AAas  mustered  into  the  United  States  ser\'ice  June  21, 
AA-ith  the  folloAving  roster  of  officers : 

Field  and  Staff' .  —  Colonel,  Henry  S.  Briggs  of  Pittsfield; 
lieutenant-colonel.  JefTord  M.  Decker  of  LaAA^rence ;  ma.jor,  "Wil- 
liam R.  Marsh  of  Northampton ;  surgeon,  Cyrus  N.  Chamberlain 
of  Northampton:  assistant  surgeon,  William  Holbrook  of 
Palmer:  chaplain,  Frederick  A.  Barton  of  Springfield:  adjutant, 
OliA-er  EdAvards  of  Springfield;  quartermaster,  John  W.  Hoav- 
land  of  North  Adams:  sergeant-major,  EdAA^ard  K.  AVilcox  of 
Springfield :  quartermaster-sergeant,  Elihu  B.  AVhittlesey  of 
Pittsfield:  hospital  stCAvard.  Charles  C.  Wells  of  Northampton; 
leader  of  band,  William  D.  Hodge  of  North  Adams:  principal 
musician,  John  L.  Gaffney  of  Chicopee. 

Line  Officers.  — Co.  A,  Great  Barrington  — Captani.  Ralph 
0.  Ia'cs  :  first  lieutenant.  James  L.  Bacon :  second  lieutenant, 
Henry  L.  Wilcox.  Co.  B.  Johnson  Grays  of  Adams— Captain, 
Elisha  Smart :  first  lieutenant,  Samuel  C.  Traver :  second  lieu- 
tenant. LcAvis  W.  (Joddard.  Co.  C,  Northampton  — Captain, 
Joseph  B.  Parsons ;  first  lieutenant.  James  H.  Wetherell :  second 
lieutenant.  Flavel  Shurtleff.  Co.  D.  Pollock  Guard  of  Pittsfield  — 
Captain.  Thomas  W.  Clapp :  first  lieutenant,  Charles  Wheeler; 
second  lieutenant.  DAvight  Hubbard.       Co.  E  — Captain,  Fred 

(      202      ) 


THE  ^yAB  OF  1861-65 

Barton  of  Westfield :  first  lieutenant,  Byron  Porter  of  Westfield ; 
second  lieutenant,  Wallace  A.  Putnam  of  Danvers.  Co.  F, 
Springfield  City  Guard— Captain,  Hosea  C.  Lombard;  first  lieu- 
tenant, Hiram  A.  Keith;  second  lieutenant,  Georg-e  W.  Bigelow. 
Co.  G,  Greenfield  Guards— Captain,  Edwin  E.  Day;  first  lieu- 
tenant, George  Pierce ;  second  lieutenant,  Lorenzo  M.  Reming- 
ton. Co.  H,  Shelburne  Falls— Captain,  Ozro  Miller;  first  lieu- 
tenant. Chandler  J.  Woodward ;  second  lieutenant,  Benjamin  F. 
Leland.  Co.  I— Captain,  John  H.  Clifford  of  Holyoke;  first 
lieutenant,  Joseph  K.  Newell  of  Springfield :  second  lieutenant, 
Joseph  H.  Bennett  of  West  Springfield.  Co.  K,  Westfield— 
Captain,  Lucius  B.  AValkley:  first  lieutenant,  David  M.  Chase; 
second  lieutenant,  Edwin  T.  Johnson. 

The  regiment  was  reviewed  by  the  governor  on  the  10th  of 
July,  received  state  and  national  colors  on  the  16th,  presented  by 
the  ladies  of  Springfield,  and  on  the  16th  went  to  Medford,  where 
it  encamped  for  a  few  days.  It  started  for  Washington  on  the 
25th,  reached  that  city  three  days  later,  and  was  incorporated  in 
the  army  of  the  Potomac.  It  remained  in  camp  at  Brightwood, 
a  few  miles  north  of  Washington,  during  the  long  months  which 
preceded  the  Peninsula  campaign  of  General  INIcClellan,  in  the 
spring  of  1862,  being  engaged  in  building  fortifications  and  rou- 
tine camp  duties. 

Its  first  serious  engagement  occurred  at  the  battle  of  Fair 
Oaks,  May  31,  1862,  where  the  regiment  lost  twenty-seven  officers 
and  men  killed  and  ninety-five  wounded,  six  of  the  latter  fatally. 
Fighting  most  gallantly  during  all  of  the  afternoon,  the  regiment 
won  high  praise  for  its  heroic  conduct,  which  was  further  demon- 
strated at  the  battle  of  jMalvern  Hill,  on  the  1st  of  July,  when 
out  of  400  men  taken  into  action  it  lost  ten  killed  and  over  sev- 
enty wounded.  The  regiment  participated  in  all  the  campaigns 
of  the  army  of  the  Potomac  which  followed,  until  the  expiration 
of  its  term  of  service,  rendering  especially  valuable  service  at  the 
battle  of  Salem  Church,  May  3,  1863,  and  the  battle  of  the  Angle, 
]\Iay  12,  1864.  It  was  relieved  from  duty  in  front  of  Peters- 
burg June  19,  1864,  the  re-enlisted  men  and  recruits  being  trans- 
ferred to  the  Thirty-seventh  Massachusetts  (q.  v.),  the  original 

(      203      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

members  of  the  regiment  returning  to  Springfield,  which  they 
reached  on  the  25th.  and  being  mustered  out  of  service  a  few 
daj's  later. 

From  a  total  enrollment  of  1,255,  the  reigment  lost  10  offi- 
cers and  124  men  killed  in  action  or  died  from  wounds,  and  one 
officer  and  55  men  died  from  disease,  accidents,  etc.,  making  a 
total  of  190  deaths.  It  participated  in  the  following  battles  and 
engagements,  not  including  minor  skirmishes: 

Siege  of  Yorktown,  April  4-May  4,  1862 :  Williamsburg, 
May  5,  1862 ;  Fair  Oaks,  May  31,  1862 ;  Oak  Grove,  June  25, 
1862 ;  Malvern  Hill,  July  1, 1862 ;  Marye's  Heights,  May  3,  1863 ; 
Salem  Church,  May  3-4,  1863;  Franklin's  Crossing,  June.  1863; 
Gettysburg,  July  2-3,  1863 ;  Rappahannock  Station,  November  7, 
1863 ;  Wilderness,  May  5-6,  1864 ;  Operations  at  Mine  Run,  No- 
vember 26-28,  1863 :  Laurel  Hill.  May  8,  1864 ;  Spottsylvania, 
May  12,  1864 ;  Spottsylvania  Court  House,  May  18,  1864 :  North 
Anna,  May  24,  1864;  Hanover  Town,  May  28,  1864;  Peake's 
Station,  May  30,  1864;  Cold  Harbor,  June  1-12,  1864;  Peters- 
burg, June  17-19,  1864. 

The  Eighteenth  Infantry.  — The  Eighteenth  regiment  had  as 
an  organization  no  connection  with  Hampden  county,  being  en- 
camped at  Dedham  and  leaving  the  state,  only  partially  organ- 
ized, August  20,  1861.  But  its  colonel  and  several  other  offi- 
cers, as  well  as  forty-three  of  the  enlisted  men,  were  from  Hamp- 
den county,  entitling  the  regiment  to  more  than  casual  mention 
in  these  pages.  The  officers  from  Hampden  county  were  as  fol- 
lows : 

Colonel,  James  Barnes  of  Springfield ;  surgeons,  David  P. 
Smith,  of  Springfield,  promoted  to  brigade  surgeon;  and  Wil- 
liam Holbrook  of  Palmer ;  assistant  surgeon,  Edwin  F.  Silcox  of 
Springfield ;  second  lieutenant,  James  D.  Orne  of  Springfield, 
promoted  to  first  lieutenant  and  to  captain ;  second  lieutenant, 
John  D.  Tsbell  of  Springfield,  promoted  from  quartermaster- 
sergeant. 

The  i-egiment  served  with  distinction  in  the  army  of  the 
Potomac.  Fifth  corps,  and  of  a  total  enrollment  of  1,365  lost  9 
officers  and  114  men  killed  oi-  mortally  wounded  in  battle,  while  2 

(      204      ) 


THE  ^yAR  OF  1861-65 

officers  and  127  men  died  from  disease,  etc.,  making  a  total  death 
loss  of  252. 

The  2\cciity-first  Ijifantry.  — The  Twenty-first  regiment  was 
organized  at  Worcester  in  July  and  August,  1861,  and  in  addi- 
tion to  several  commissioned  officers,  bore  on  its  rolls  the  names 
of  seventy-seven  enlisted  men  from  Hampden  county,  making  its 
history  of  interest  in  this  connection.  Those  from  Hampden 
county  commissioned  in  the  regiment  were  as  follows: 

Captain,  John  D.  Prazer  of  Holyoke ;  captain,  Thomas 
Francis  of  Palmer;  first  lieutenant,  Wells  Willard  of  Spring- 
field ;  first  lieutenant,  Asa  E.  HayAvard  of  Springfield ;  second 
lieutenant,  James  W.  Hopkins  of  Springfield ;  second  lieutenant, 
John  Kelt  of  Holyoke;  hospital  steward,  Frank  G.  Davis  of 
Palmer. 

This  regiment  was  the  first  selected  for  the  Burnside  expedi- 
tion against  the  North  Carolina  coast,  and  it  served  in  North 
Carolina  until  the  Ninth  corps  was  transferred  to  Virginia, 
where  it  fought  at  the  Second  Bull  Run,  Chantilly,  Antietam, 
and  Fredericksburg.  In  February,  1863,  it  Avas  transferred  to 
Burnside 's  command  in  Kentucky,  serving  in  that  state  and 
Tennessee  until  the  return  of  the  Ninth  corps  to  the  army  of  the 
Potomac  in  the  spring  of  1864.  In  the  campaign  under  General 
Grant  from  the  AA^'ilderness  to  Petersburg  the  dwindling  regi- 
ment bore  its  full  share  until  the  18th  of  August,  1864,  when  the 
original  members  were  mustered  out,  leaving  a  battalion  of  three 
small  companies  which  two  months  later  was  attached  to  the 
Thirty-sixth  Massachusetts  regiment.  From  an  enrollment  of 
1,435,  the  Twenty-first  lost  11  officers  and  148  men  killed  or  mor- 
tally wounded  in  action,  and  2  officers  and  89  men  died  from  dis- 
ease— a  total  of  250. 

The  Twenty-seventh  Infantry.— Wiihin  two  months  after 
the  departure  of  the  Tenth  regiment  from  the  rendezvous  at 
Springfield,  another  regiment  began  to  gather,  the  camping 
ground  being  selected  just  east  of  the  city's  residential  portion. 
It  covered  very  much  the  same  ground,  four  of  the  companies  as 
organized  coming  from  Hampden  county,  two  each  from  Berk- 
shire and  Hampshire,  one  from  Franklin,  and  one  from  north- 

(      205      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

western  AVorcester.  The  regiiiieiit  was  designated  as  the 
Twenty-seventh,  and  by  the  25th  of  Octobei*,  1861,  had  been  fully 
recruited,  anned.  equipped  and  nuistered,  with  the  following  ros- 
ter of  officers : 

Field  and  Staf— Colonel,  Horace  G.  Lee  of  Springfield; 
lieutenant-colonel,  Luke  Lyman  of  Northampton ;  major,  Wil- 
liam M.  Brown  of  Adams;  surgeon,  George  A.  Otis  of  Spring- 
field ;  assistant  surgeon,  Samuel  Camp  of  Great  Harrington ; 
chaplain,  JNIiles  Sanford  of  Adams ;  adjutant,  George  W.  Bart- 
lett  of  Greenfield;  quartermaster,  AYilliam  H.  Tyler  of  Adams; 
sergeant-major,  Henry  C.  Dwight  of  Northampton;  quartermas- 
ter-sergeant, George  M.  Bowler  of  Adams;  commissary-sergeant. 
John  J.  Ellis  of  Lynn ;  hospital  steward,  George  E.  Fuller  of 
Palmer;  principal  musician.  Linens  C.  Skinner  of  Amherst; 
leader  of  band,  Amos  Bond  of  Springfield. 

Line  Officers— Co.  A— Captain,  Samuel  C.  Vance  of  Indian- 
apolis, Ind. ;  first  lieutenant,  Mark  H.  Spaulding  of  Northamp- 
ton ;  second  lieutenant,  Edwin  C.  Clark  of  Northampton.  Co. 
B — Captain,  Adin  AV.  Caswell  of  Gardner;  first  lieutenant, 
Parker  W.  McManus  of  Davenport,  la. ;  second  lieutenant, 
Lovell  H.  Horton  of  Athol.  Co.  C,  Greenfield— Captain.  Wil- 
liam A.  Walker ;  first  lieutenant,  Joseph  H.  Nutting ;  second  lieu- 
tenant, William  F.  Barrett.  Co.  D  — Captain,  Timothy  W. 
Sloan  of  Amherst;  first  lieutenant,  Ami  R.  Dennison  of  Am- 
herst ;  second  lieutenant,  John  S.  Aiteheson  of  Chicopee.  Co. 
E— Captain,  Gustavus  A.  Fuller  of  Springfield;  first  lieutenant, 
John  W.  Trafton  of  Springfield;  second  lieutenant,  Luther  J. 
Bradley  of  Lee.  Co.  F— Captain,  Lucius  F.  Thayer  of  West- 
field;  first  lieutenant,  John  AA".  Moore  of  Tolland;  second  lieu- 
tenant. James  H.  Fowler  of  AA^estfield.  Co.  G— Captain.  R. 
Ripley  Swift  of  Chicopee;  first  lieutenant.  Peter  S.  Bailey  of 
Springfield ;  second  lieutenant,  Frederick  0.  AA^ right  of  North- 
ampton. Co.  H— Captain,  AA'alter  G.  Bartholomew  of  Spring- 
field ;  firet  lieutenant,  Charles  D.  Sanford  of  Adams ;  second  lieu- 
tenant, AVilliam  H.  H.  Briggs  of  Adams.  Co.  I— Captain, 
Henry  A.  Hubbard  of  Ludlow ;  fii*st  lieutenant,  Edward  K.  Wil- 
cox of  Springfield ;  second  lieutenant.  Cyrus  Goodale  of  AAllbra- 

(      206      ) 


THE    WAR  OF  1861-65 

ham.  Co.  K.  Sprinofield— Captain.  Horace  K.  Cooley;  first 
lieutenant,  George  AVarner;  second  lieutenant,  AV.  Chapman 
Hunt. 

Leaving  Springtield  on  the  2d  of  November,  1861,  the  regi- 
ment went  to  Annapolis,  Md.,  where  it  formed  part  of  the  Burn- 
side  expedition  against  North  Carolina.  It  rendered  excellent 
service  in  the  operations  in  that  state,  until  October  10,  1863, 
when  it  was  transferred  with  its  brigade  to  Virginia,  being  as- 
signed during  the  winter  to  provost  duty  at  Portsmouth  and 
Norfolk.  At  this  time  enough  members  of  the  regiment  re- 
enlisted  to  insure  the  continuance  of  the  organization  after  the 
expiration  of  the  original  three-years'  term  of  enlistment.  The 
Twenty-seventh  entered  service  in  the  spring  of  1864  as  a  part 
of  General  Butler's  army  of  the  James,  its  reports  showing  a 
membership,  including  recruits,  of  933  officers  and  men.  It 
took  part  in  several  minor  engagements,  and  on  the  16th  of  May 
at  Drewry's  Bluff  suffered  a  terrible  disaster,  losing  65  in  killed 
and  wounded  and  248,  including  12  of  the  wounded,  made  pris- 
oners. Being  detached  as  part  of  a  provisional  division  under 
Gen.  Charles  Devens  to  join  the  army  of  the  Potomac  at  Cold 
Harbor,  the  Twenty-seventh  took  part  in  the  murderous  assault 
on  the  Confederate  lines  on  the  morning  of  June  3,  1864,  losing 
17  killed,  65  wounded,  and  four  taken  prisoners.  Of  the  744 
men  who  accompanied  the  colors  of  the  regiment  from  Yorktown 
a  month  previous  only  83  now  remained  for  duty,  and  of  these 
14  more  were  lost  during  the  subsequent  days  before  Cold  Har- 
bor. In  the  operations  against  Petersburg,  up  to  the  18th  of 
June,  the  Twenty-seventh  lost  50  officers  and  men  in  killed  and 
wounded,  only  one  commissioned  officer— a  first  lieutenant- 
remaining  for  duty. 

Those  original  members  of  the  regiment  who  had  not  re- 
enlisted  were  relieved  from  duty  about  the  20th  of  September, 
1864,  reached  Springfield  on  the  28th,  and  were  mustered  out 
the  following  day.  The  re-enlisted  men  and  recruits  still  com- 
posing the  regiment  in  the  field  were  returned  to  North  Carolina 
for  duty,  and  under  Lieutenant-Colonel  Walter  G.  Bartholomew 
remained  in  the  service  until  the  close  of  the  war.      On  the  8th 

(      207      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

of  March,  1865,  the  regiment  was  surrounded  and  almost  anni- 
hilated at  the  battle  of  Southwest  Creek,  seven  men  only  escap- 
ing death  or  capture,  147  being  made  prisoners,  40  of  -whom  were 
wounded.  The  captured  were  marched  to  Libby  prison,  where 
they  were  paroled,  and  on  reaching  the  union  lines  were  given  a 
month's  furlough  to  Massachusetts.  The  nucleus  remaining  in 
the  service,  which  by  the  addition  of  convalescents  and  recruits 
soon  came  to  number  about  thirty,  remained  on  guard  duty  and 
similar  detail  until  the  26th  of  June,  when  it  was  mustered  out 
of  service,  returning  to  Readville,  Mass.,  where  the  final  pay- 
ments were  made  and  the  TAventy-seventh  regiment  was  for- 
mally disbanded  on  the  19th  of  July. 

The  command  had  a  total  enrollment  of  1,567,  of  whom  9 
officers  and  128  men  were  killed  or  mortally  Avounded  in  action, 
while  3  officers  and  261  men  died  from  other  causes,  making  a 
total  of  401  deaths.  Of  this  number  more  than  120  died  in  the 
confederate  prison  pen  at  Andersonville,  Ga.  The  principal 
battles  in  which  the  regiment  participated  were  as  follows: 

Roanoke  Island,  February  8,  1862 ;  Newbern,  March  14 
1862;  Goldsboro,  December  17,  1862:  Siege  of  Washington,  N 
C,  March  30- April  16,  1863 ;  Dover  Road,  N.  C,  April  28,  1863 
Dunn's  Farm,  May  6,  1864;  Walthal  Junction,  May  7,  1864 
Arrowfield  Church,  May  9,  1864;  Drewry's  Bluff.  May  16,  1864 
Cold  Harbor,  June  2-3,  1864;  Petersburg,  June  15-18,  1864 
Southwest  Creek,  March  8,  1865. 

The  Thirty-first  Infantj^y.  — The  organization  afterward 
known  as  the  Thirty-first  Massachusetts  infantry  volunteers  Avas 
raised  by  Gen.  Benjamin  F.  Butler  under  authority  direct  from 
the  war  department  at  "Washington,  and  Avas  at  first  designated 
as  the  AVestern  Bay  State  regiment.  It  gathered  at  Pittsfield, 
the  recruits  coming  from  all  of  the  western  portion  of  the  state, 
AAdth  many  from  Vermont  and  Ncav  York.  Hampden  county 
furnished  175  enlisted  men,  and  the  following  commissioned  offi- 
cers: 

Captain,  EdAvard  P.  Nettleton  of  Chieopee,  promoted  to 
lieutenant-colonel,  and  to  colonel,  though  not  mustered  to  the  lat- 
ter rank ;  first  lieutenant,  Joseph  L.  Hallett  of  Springfield :  sec- 

(      208      ) 


THE  ^yAB  OF  1861-65 

ond  lieutenant,  Frank  A,  Cook  of  Springfield,  promoted  to  first 
lieutenant ;  second  lieutenant,  Alexander  H.  G.  Lewis  of  Bland- 
ford,  promoted  to  first  lieutenant;  second  lieutenant,  Martin 
M,  Pulver  of  Springfield;  second  lieutenant,  John  Hines  of 
Chicopee ;  second  lieutenant,  George  B.  Oaks  of  Holyoke,  not 
mustered  and  discharged  as  first  sergeant. 

Leaving  the  state  on  the  20th  of  February,  1862,  the  regi- 
ment went  to  Ship  Island,  where  the  forces  for  General  Butler's 
expedition  against  New  Orleans  were  being  gathered,  and  was 
the  first  organization  to  land  at  New  Orleans  on  the  occupation 
of  that  city.  Until  the  following  spring  the  companies  com- 
posing the  regiment  were  on  garrison  duty  at  various  points  in 
and  near  the  city.  In  the  active  operations  of  the  spring  of  1863 
the  regiment  took  some  part,  without  being  seriously  engaged 
until  the  siege  of  Port  Hudson,  in  which  sixty-two  enlisted  men 
were  killed  or  wounded.  After  the  surrender  of  that  strong- 
hold the  regiment  was  engaged  in  various  excursions  through  the 
surrounding  country,  but  without  any  serious  engagements. 

During  December,  1863,  the  men  were  mounted  and  trained 
in  cavalry  tactics,  and  the  regiment  was  from  that  time  com- 
monly spoken  of  as  the  Sixth  Massachusetts  cavalry,  though  its 
official  designation  was  never  changed.  In  the  Red  river  cam- 
paign of  the  following  spring  it  bore  an  arduous  part,  and  in  the 
battle  of  Sabine  Cross  Roads,  April  8,  under  command  of  Cap- 
tain Nettleton,  it  made  a  gallant  charge  against  an  overwhelm- 
ingly superior  force  of  the  victorious  enemy,  losing  sixty-tAVO 
men,  but  failing  to  more  than  temporarily  check  the  advei-se  for- 
tunes of  the  day.  In  the  subsequent  operations  in  the  depart- 
ment the  regiment  was  kept  constantly  busy,  scouting,  skirmish- 
ing, and  in  guard  duty,  a  battalion  of  re-enlisted  men  and  re- 
cruits remaining  in  the  service  after  the  expiration  of  the  orig- 
inal term  of  enlistment,  and  taking  active  part  in  the  operations 
against  INlobile  in  the  spring  of  1865.  The  command  was  mus- 
tered out  of  the  United  States  service  September  9,  1865. 

During  its  service  the  reigment  lost  52  enlisted  men  killed 
or  mortally  wounded  in  action,  and  3  officers  and  150  men  died 
from  disease  and  accidents,  making  a  death  loss  of  205  from  a 
total  enrollment  of  1,343. 

14-1  (      209      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

The  Thirty -fourtli  Infantry.  — Thh  regiment  was  provided 
for  by  Governor  Andrew's  order  of  May  29,  1862,  which  directed 
that  ten  of  the  thirty  companies  then  called  for  shonld  be  raised 
in  the  five  western  counties  of  the  state,  forming  a  regiment  to 
encamp  on  the  Agricultural  grounds  at  Worcester.  Under  this 
arrangement  Companies  D  and  O  were  practically  Hampden 
county  organizations,  as  the  former  had  ninety-eight  and  the 
latter  eighty-six  enlisted  men  from  this  county,  while  enough 
Hampden  county  men  were  scattered  through  the  other  com- 
panies to  raise  the  total  to  217,  in  addition  to  the  following  com- 
missioned officers. 

Captain,  CTCorge  W.  Thompson  of  Springfield;  captain, 
Wells  Willard  of  Spring-field ;  first  lieutenant,  Frederick  A.  Judd 
of  Holyoke ;  first  lieutenant,  Charles  H.  Morrill  of  Westfield ; 
second  lieutenant,  J.  Austin  Lyman  of  Springfield;  second  lieu- 
tenant, Jere  Horton  of  Westfield;  second  lieutenant,  Alfred 
Dibble  of  Southwick;  second  lieutenant,  Daniel  C.  Wishart  of 
Westfield. 

The  Thirty-fourth  left  the  state  on  the  15th  of  August,  1862, 
and  went  to  Washington,  remaining  on  duty  in  the  defenses  of 
that  city  until  July  9,  1863,  when  it  was  ordered  to  the  vicinity 
of  Harper's  Ferry,  where  it  remained  until  late  in  April,  1864, 
making  occasional  excursions  up  the  Shenandoah  valley,  engag- 
ing in  some  skirmishing  and  occasional  fighting,  but  was  not 
heavily  engaged  until  the  advance  of  General  Siegel's  forces  up 
the  valley  and  the  battle  of  New^  Market,  May  15,  1864.  From 
that  time  the  regiment  was  constantly  active,  suffering  seriously 
at  the  battle  of  Piedmont,  June  5,  participating  in  the  terrible 
scramble  of  General  Hunter's  forces  through  the  mountains  of 
West  Virginia,  returning  to  take  a  heroic  part  in  the  subsequent 
operations  in  the  vallej^  during  the  following  months,  winning 
great  credit  for  its  effective  work  at  the  battle  of  the  Opequan  on 
the  19th  of  September,  as  well  as  in  the  later  engagements  in  that 
region.  In  December  the  regiment  with  its  di^'ision  was  trans- 
ferred to  the  scene  of  operations  in  front  of  Petersburg,  and  in 
the  stirring  events  of  the  spring  of  1865,  witnessing  the  over- 
throw of  the  rebellion,  it  well  maintained  the  prestige  won  on 

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THE   ^yAR  OF  1861-65 

so  many  hard  fought  fields.  The  war  ended,  the  remnant  of  the 
command  was  mustered  out  of  the  United  States  service  on  the 
15th  of  June,  1865.  Its  record  is  an  especially  honorable  one 
when  it  is  borne  in  mind  that  its  battle  losses  were  nearly  all  sus- 
tained within  less  than  a  year,  and  in  fact  much  the  larger  por- 
tion of  them  inside  of  six  months.  Of  a  total  enrollment  of 
1,306  members,  the  regiment  lost  7  officers  and  128  enlisted  men 
killed  or  mortally  wounded  in  action,  and  2  officers  and  132  men 
died  from  disease  and  other  causes,  making  a  total  death  roll  of 
269. 

The  Thirty-sixth  Infantry. — The  Thirty-sixth  was  a 
Worcester  county  regiment,  with  the  exception  of  Company  E, 
which  had  sixty-five  men  from  Hampden  county,  mostly  repre- 
senting the  towns  of  Palmer  and  Monson,  while  scattered 
through  the  other  companies  Avere  enough  Hampden  county  men 
to  bring  the  total  up  to  eighty-four  for  the  regiment,  in  addition 
to  the  following  officers : 

Captain,  Stephen  C.  AYarriner  of  Monson :  first  lieutenant, 
Robert  M.  Cross  of  Palmer ;  sergeant-major,  Ostenello  Wash- 
burn of  Holyoke ;  principal  musician,  Lorenzo  C.  Strickland  of 
Palmer. 

This  regi}nent  left  camp  at  Worcester  September  2,  1862, 
going  to  Boston  and  thence  by  water  to  Washington,  where  it 
was  assig:ned  to  the  Ninth  corps,  which  it  joined  soon  after  the 
battle  of  Antietam.  It  participated  in  the  battle  of  Fredericks- 
burg, went  with  its  corps  to  Kentucky  in  February,  1863,  rein- 
forced General  Grant's  army  before  Vieksburg  early  in  June, 
after  the  surrender  followed  Johnston's  army  into  Mississippi, 
and  returned  to  the  old  camp  in  Kentucky  in  August,  having 
suffered  terribly  from  sickness.  Thence  the  regiment  moved 
with  its  corps  to  Tennessee,  returning  to  rejoin  the  army  of  the 
Potomac  in  the  spring  of  1864,  with  which  its  fortunes  were 
identified  from  the  opening'  of  the  campaign  in  the  Wilderness, 
during  the  operations  against  Petersburg,  until  the  close  of  the 
war  in  the  folloAving  spring.  It  was  mustered  out  of  the  na- 
tional service  June  8,  1865. 

Of  a  total  enrollment  of  1,317  members,  the  regiment  lost  6 
officers  and  105  men  killed  or  mortally  wounded  in  action,  while 

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OVR  COUNTY  AXD  ITS  PEOPLE 

3  officers  and  160  men  died  of  disease  or  accident,  making  a  total 
death  roll  of  274. 

The  Thirty-seve)ini  l)if(utf)-ij.  — This  regiment  was  organ- 
ized at  Pittsfield,  under  the  president's  call  of  July  1,  1862,  for 
300,000  volunteers  to  serve  for  three  years.  It  was  composed 
principally  of  men  from  the  four  western  counties  of  the  state, 
Hampden  county  furnishing  810  enlisted  men,  in  addition  to  the 
folloAnng  officers,  commissioned  at  the  organization  of  the  regi- 
ment, several  of  whom  attained  to  higher  rank: 

Colonel,  Oliver  Edwards  of  Springfield;  chaplain,  Rev. 
Frank  C.  Morse  of  Blandford;  sergeant-major,  Robert  A.  Gray 
of  Springfield ;  principal  musician,  John  L.  Galfney  of  Chico- 
pee.  Co.  A— Captain,  Jarvis  P.  Kelley;  fii-st  lieutenant,  Eli 
T.  Blackmer ;  second  lieutenant,  Carlos  C.  Wellman,  all  of  Chico- 
pee.  Co.  D — Captain,  Algernon  S.  Flagg  of  Wilbraham.  Co. 
F — Captain,  Eugene  A.  Allen  of  Springfield.  Co.  H — Second 
lieutenant,  Andrew  L.  Bush  of  AYestfield.  Co.  I  — Captain, 
Hugh  Donnelly ;  first  lieutenant,  J.  Milton  Fuller ;  second  lieu- 
tenant, Charles  Phelps,  all  of  Springfield.  Co.  K — First  lieu- 
tenant, John  B.  ]\Iulloy;  second  lieutenant,  George  B.  Chandley, 
both  of  Springfield. 

The  regiment  left  Pittsfield  foi'  the  front  September  7,  1862, 
and  after  a  shoil  encampment  on  Arlington  Heights  joined  the 
army  of  the  Potomac,  then  encamped  in  ^Maryland,  a  few  miles 
from  the  battlefield  of  Antietam.  It  participated  in  the  subse- 
quent movements  of  that  army,  forming  a  part  of  the  Sixth 
corps,  until  Jul}'  31,  1863,  when  it  was  ordered  to  New  York  as 
one  of  the  four  select  regiments  for  duty  during  the  draft.  This 
duty  was  very  creditably  performed,  and  the  regiment  returned 
to  the  army  in  October,  where  it  served  with  distinction  until  the 
close  of  the  war.  Its  service  was  especially  valuable  at  the  bat- 
tle of  the  Wilderness,  at  Spottsylvania,  at  the  battle  of  the  Ope- 
quan,  in  the  final  assault  upon  Petersburg,  and  the  battle  of 
Sailor's  Creek.  From  August,  1864,  it  was  armed  with  the 
Spencer  repeating  rifle,  making  it  a  veiy  formidable  organization 
in  active  service.  The  fighting  at  Sailor's  Creek  was  hand  to 
hand,  and  rated  as  among  the  most  despei'ate  of  the  war.      Four 

(      212      ) 


THE  ^yAn  of  laei-eo 

batt]e  flags  were  captured  by  the  Thirty-seventh  during  the  term 
of  its  service,  and  four  of  its  members  received  Congressional 
medals  of  honor  for  distinguished  gallantry  in  action. 

Of  a  total  enrollment  of  1,314  members,  the  regiment  lost  4 
officers  and  165  enlisted  men  killed  or  mortally  wounded  in 
action,  while  92  enlisted  men  died  from  disease,  accident,  or  in 
confederate  prisons,  making  a  total  death  roll  of  261.  The  regi- 
ment took  part  in  the  following  battles  and  engagements : 

Fredericksburg,  December  11-15,  1862;  Marye's  Heights, 
May  3,  1863:  Salem  Church,  May  3-4,  1863;  Franklin's  Cross- 
ing, June,  1863 ;  Gettysburg,  July  2-3,  1863 ;  Rappahannock  Sta- 
tion, November  7,  1863 ;  Mine  Eun,  November  30,  1863 ;  Wilder- 
ness, May  5-6,  1864 ;  Laurel  Hill,  INIay  8,  1864 ;  the  Angle,  May 
12,  1864;  Spottsylvania  Court  House,  May  18,  1864;  North 
Anna,  May  24.  1864 ;  Cold  Harbor,  June  1-12,  1864 ;  Petersburg, 
June  18,  1864;  Fort  Stevens,  July  12,  1864;  Charlestown,  Au- 
gust 21,  1864;  the  Opequan,  September  19,  1864;  Hatcher's 
Run,  February  5,  1865 ;  Fort  Stedman,  March  25,  1865 ;  Fall  of 
Petersburg,  April  2,  1865;  Sailor's  Creek,  April  6,  1865. 

The  Forty-sixth  Infantry. — The  Forty-sixth  was  the  most 
exclusively  a  Hampden  county  organization  of  any  regiment 
sent  from  Massachusetts  to  the  war.  It  was  recruited  under  the 
call  of  the  president  on  August  4,  1862,  for  300,000  recruits  for 
nine  months'  service,  and  the  rendezvous  was  naturally  at 
Springfield.  The  regiment  was  organized  largely  through  the 
efforts  of  Rev.  George  Bowler,  of  Westfield,  who  was  made  its 
first  colonel.  The  several  companies  gathered  at  Camp  N.  P. 
Banks  as  they  became  sufficiently  advanced,  and  when  filled 
were  mustered  into  the  United  States  service  — the  first  on  Sep- 
tember 24.  and  the  last  on  October  22.  The  field  and  staff  were 
mustered  on  the  30th  of  October,  the  original  list  being  as  fol- 
lows: 

Field  and  Staff.— Colonel,  George  Bowler  of  Westfield; 
lieutenant-colonel,  William  S.  Shurtleff  of  Springfield ;  major, 
Lucius  B.  Walkley  of  Westfield ;  surgeon,  James  H.  Waterman 
of  Westfield :  assistant  surgeon,  Thomas  Gilfillan  of  Cumming- 
ton :  chaplain,  George  W.  Gorham  of  Holyoke ;  adjutant,  James 

(      213      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AXD  ITS  PEOPLE 

C.  Smith  of  Chieopce;  quartennaster,  Henry  M.  INIorehouse  of 
Springfield ;  sergeant-major,  Joseph  F.  Field  of  AA^estfield ;  quar- 
termaster-sergeant, George  B.  Pierce  of  Holyoke ;  commissary- 
sergeant,  Alfred  J.  Newton  of  Monson ;  hospital  steward,  John 
R.  Greenleaf  of  Ware. 

Line  Officers.— Co.  A,  Springfield— Captain,  Samuel  B. 
Spooner;  first  lieutenant,  Lewis  A.  Tifft;  second  lieutenant, 
Daniel  J.  Marsh.  Co.  B,  Holj'oke— Captain,  Daniel  E.  Kings- 
bury ;  first  lieutenant,  Henry  Wheeler ;  second  lieutenant,  Amos 
0.  Kinney.  Co.  C,  Westfield— Captain,  Andrew  Campbell  2d; 
first  lieutenant,  Joseph  C.  Noble ;  second  lieutenant,  John  T. 
Spear.  Co.  D,  Chicopee— Captain,  Da\dd  E.  Grimes;  first  lieu- 
tenant, George  H.  Knapp ;  second  lieutenant,  David  Bronson. 
Co.  E — Captain,  James  M.  Justin  of  Granville;  first  lieutenant, 
Charles  U.  Ely  of  West  Springfield ;  second  lieutenant,  Lathrop 
Lee  of  Southwick.  Co.  F— Captain,  Russell  H.  Con  well  of 
Worthington;  first  lieutenant,  Horace  Heath  of  Russell;  second 
lieutenant,  Charles  Fay  of  Chester.       Co.  G— Captain,  Francis 

D.  Lincoln  of  Brimfield ;  first  lieutenant,  George  H.  Howe  of 
Monson ;  second  lieutenant,  Julius  M.  Lyon  of  Wales.  Co.  H— 
Captain,  Francis  C.  Cook  of  Palmer;  first  lieutenant,  William 
ShaAv  of  Belchertown ;  second  lieutenant,  George  S.  Dixon  of 
Monson.  Co.  I— Captain,  William  C.  Leonard  of  Wilbraham; 
first  lieutenant,  Reuben  DeWitt  of  Agawam :  second  lieutenant, 
N.  Saxton  Cooley  of  Long-meadow.  Co.  K — Captain,  John 
Avery  of  Westfield ;  first  lieutenant,  Elisha  C.  Tower  of  AVorth- 
ington ;  second  lieutenant,  George  M.  Stewart  of  Wales. 

Of  the  entire  list  of  officers,  only  five  came  from  outside  the 
county  limits,  these  being  from  bordering  Hampshire  county 
towns,  and  of  the  enlisted  men  a  still  larger  proportion  belonged 
to  Hampden  county.  Camp  was  broken  on  the  5th  of  Novem- 
ber, the  regiment  going  to  Boston,  Avhence  it  sailed  for  Newbem, 
N.  C,  reaching  that  city  on  the  15th.  It  was  attached  to  Col. 
Horace  C.  Lee's  brigade,  composed  of  Massachusetts  regiments. 
Its  first  active  service  was  in  connection  with  the  Goldsboro  ex- 
pedition, which  set  forth  on  the  morning  of  December  11,  1862. 
It  supported  a  battery  during  the  battle  of  Kinston  on  the  14th, 

(      214      ) 


THE   ^yAB   OF  1861-65 

furnished  a  detail  of  fifty  sharpshooters  for  the  light  at  White- 
hall on  the  16th,  and  was  more  closely  engaged  at  the  battle  of 
Goldsboro  on  the  17th,  supporting  Belger's  battery  during  the 
battle  proper,  and  after  the  return  of  the  union  troops  began 
reinforcing  the  rear  guard — its  casualties  being  one  man  killed 
and  four  wounded  during  the  expedition.  A  march  of  three 
days  took  the  regiment  back  to  its  camp. 

At  this  time  Colonel  Bowler,  who  had  been  too  ill  to  com- 
mand the  regiment  on  the  expedition,  though  he  accompanied  it 
as  far  as  Kinston,  resigned  his  commission,  and  promotions  in 
regular  order  were  conferred  upon  Lieutenant-Colonel  Shurtleff, 
Major  AA^'alkley,  and  Captain  Spooner.  The  operations  of  the 
spring  of  1863  developed  considerable  activity  on  the  part  of  the 
confederates,  calling  for  corresponding  alertness  on  the  part  of 
the  union  forces.  In  jNIarch  six  companies  of  the  I'egiment  were 
sent  to  Plymouth,  on  the  Roanoke  river,  which  was  threatened 
by  a  hostile  force ;  but  they  returned  to  Newbei*n  May  8  Avithout 
having  been  seriously  engaged.  On  the  21st  the  regiment 
formed  part  of  a  force  engaged  in  an  expedition  to  drive  a  body 
of  confederates  from  "Gum  Swamp,"  eight  miles  from  Kins- 
ton,  the  purpose  being  accomplished  Avithout  loss  on  the  part  of 
the  Forty-sixth. 

Companies  A  and  I,  under  Major  Spooner,  were  left  at  New- 
bern  when  the  regiment  proper  went  to  Plymouth,  and  took  an 
honorable  part  in  the  defense  of  the  city.  Early  in  May  these 
companies  were  sent  to  Batchelder's  Creek  to  serve  on  outpost 
duty  under  Colonel  Jones  of  the  Fifty-eighth  Pennsylvania. 
The  place  Avas  attacked  on  the  23d  of  May,  Colonel  Jones  was 
killed  and  most  of  his  command  throAA^n  into  confusion,  but  Cap- 
tain Tifft  AAith  his  oaau  company  and  part  of  Co.  I  held  an  ad- 
vanced redoubt  long  after  the  rest  of  the  union  soldiers  had 
fallen  back  some  tAA'o  miles,  until  finally  discovered  by  a  recon- 
noitering  party  and  relieved.  Sergeant  A.  S.  Bryant  of  Co.  A 
AA-as  made  sergeant-major  of  the  regiment  and  received  a  con- 
gressional medal  of  honor  for  braA^ery  on  this  occasion. 

The  command  sailed  for  Fortress  Monroe  on  the  24th  of 
June,  1863,  reaching  there  on  the  28th,  and  prepared  for  a  cam- 

{      215      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AXD  ITS  PEOPLE 

paigu  under  Ueueral  Dix ;  but  as  that  officer  did  not  want  troops 
whose  term  had  so  nearly  expired,  it  was  suggested  that  the  regi- 
ment offer  its  services  during  Lee's  invasion  of  the  North.  This 
was  done,  and  the  regiment  reported  on  the  1st  of  July  to  Gen- 
eral Schenck  at  Baltimore.  It  remained  on  duty  near  the  city 
until  the  6th,  when  it  was  ordered  to  Maryland  Heights,  served 
there  until  the  11th,  and  was  then  ordered  with  its  brigade  to 
join  the  army  of  the  Potomac  near  Funkstown,  marching 
twenty-five  miles  in  sixteen  hours,  almost  without  a  rest.  But 
the  expected  battle  did  not  take  place,  and  when  the  army  of  the 
Potomac  passed  into  Virginia  in  pursuit  of  the  retreating  con- 
federates, the  Forty-sixth  started  on  the  homeward  trip,  reach- 
ing Springfield  July  21,  and  being  mustered  out  on  the  29th. 

Fortunate  in  having  but  a  single  man  killed  in  action,  the 
regiment  was  also  favored  in  that  but  thirty-five  enlisted  men 
died  of  disease,  the  smallest  loss  of  life  of  any  of  the  nine-months 
regiments  from  Massachusetts  with  a  single  exception. 

The  Eighth  Regiment  Infantry.— The  Eighth  regiment, 
M.  V.  M.,  rendered  three  terms  of  service  during  the  war  of  the 
rebellion— the  first  at  the  call  for  three-months  regiments  in 
1861,  the  second  for  nine  months  in  1862-3,  and  the  third  for  100 
days  in  1864.  Originally  an  Essex  county  organization,  it  was 
necessary  at  each  call  to  add  some  outside  companies  to  bring 
the  regiment  up  to  the  United  States  standard.  At  the  first  call 
the  Allen  Guards  of  Pittsfield  formed  one  such  company,  and  in 
1862  its  Co.  H  was  made  up  of  fifty-two  men  from  Hampden 
county— mostly  from  Springfield— and  forty  from  Boston.  Of 
its  officers,  Captain  George  K.  Davis  and  First  Lieutenant  Wil- 
liam J.  Landen  were  from  Springfield.  The  regiment  served  in 
the  department  of  North  Carolina,  being  quartered  much  of  the 
time  at  or  near  New^bern,  but  joined  the  Forty-sixth  regiment 
in  the  expedition  to  reinforce  the  army  of  the  Potomac  in  July, 
1863,  continuing  with  that  army  until  July  26,  when  ordered  to 
return  to  Massachusetts  for  muster  out*  which  took  place  on  the 
7th  of  August. 

In  1864  Hampden  county  furnished  two  companies  for  the 
regiment— A  and  H :  all  of  the  officers  being  from  Springfield : 

(      216      ) 


THE   MAR  OF  1861-65 

Co.  A.  — Captain,  Lewis  A.  Tifft;  first  lieutenant,  Gideon 
Wells;  second  lieutenant.  Chauneey  Hickox.  Co.  H— Captain, 
William  J.  Landen;  first  lieutenant,  Charles  L.  Wood;  second 
lieutenant,  John  Thayer. 

The  regiment  left  on  the  26th  of  July  for  Washington,  but 
stopped  at  Baltimore,  and  remained  on  duty  in  and  near  that 
city  until  the  expiration  of  its  term,  returning  to  ^Massachusetts 
in  time  to  be  mustered  out  November  10. 

The  Forty-second  lufaiitry. — The  Forty-second  regiment, 
which  served  during  the  nine-months'  term  of  1862-3,  again 
entered  the  service  in  1864  for  100  days.  For  this  term  the  or- 
ganization was  materially  changed  and  one  company  (H)  from 
Hampden  county  appeared  on  the  roster,  with  these  officei*s : 

Captain,  George  H.  Stewart  of  Springfield :  first  lieutenant, 
Julius  M.  Lyon  of  Wales;  second  lieutenant,  Joseph  T.  Spear  of 
Westfield. 

The  company  was  mustered  July  16,  1864.  the  regiment  was 
fully  organized  on  the  22d,  and  two  days  later  sailed  for  W^ash- 
ington.  AVith  headquarters  at  Alexandria,  its  time  was  passed 
in  guard  and  patrol  duty  and  the  escorting  of  supply  trains  to 
the  Shenandoah  Valley,  the  regiment  being  mustered  out  of 
service  November  11,  1864. 

21ie  Tliird  Heavy  Artillery.  —  This  regiment  was  organized 
as  such  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1864,  being  composed  of 
what  had  theretofore  been  known  as  "Unattached  companies" 
of  that  arm  of  the  service.  Of  these  companies,  eight  had  been 
raised  during  1868  and  mustered  into  the  LTnited  States  service 
for  garrisoning  the  forts  on  the  Massachusetts  coast.  In  the 
spring  of  1864  they  were  ordered  by  the  secretary  of  war  to  re- 
port to  AYashington  for  duty  in  the  city's  defenses,  that  other 
troops  might  be  relieved  to  serve  with  the  armies  in  the  field. 
Governor  Andrew  insisted  that  the  companies  should  be  given  a 
regimental  organization,  and  his  demand  was  finally  complied 
with,  four  additional  companies  being  sent  forward  to  complete 
the  organization.  Of  these  companies,  one  (l)  was  from  Hamp- 
den county,  entering  the  service  with  these  officers,  only  two  of 
whom  were  Hampden  county  men : 

(      217      ) 


01 R  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

Captain,  John  Pickering  of  Salem;  first  lieutenants,  Oliver 
J.  Bixby  and  John  F.  E.  Chamberlain,  both  of  Springfield ;  sec- 
ond lieutenants,  AYilliam  F.  Merrill  of  Andover  and  William  H. 
Dolliver  of  Gloucester.  Later  these  were  commissioned  as  sec- 
ond lieutenants:  AVilliam  Holden  and  Charles  H.  Ladd  of 
Springfield  and  ]\Iorton  W.  Fowler  of  Westfield. 

Company  I  was  but  nominally  a  part  of  the  regiment,  and 
it  had  an  experience  entirely  different  from  the  other  companies 
of  the  Third,  or  any  other  organization  sent  from  Massachusetts. 
It  was  mustered  at  Springfield,  February  10,  1864,  being  origin- 
ally known  as  the  Thirteenth  unattached  company  of  heavy  artil- 
lery, and  was  composed  principally  of  mechanics  who  had  been 
employed  in  the  national  armory  there.  It  was  sent  to  Fortress 
Monroe,  sailing  March  7,  and  on  arrival  there  was  at  once  placed 
in  charge  of  the  pontoon  trains  of  the  army  of  the  James  by 
Captain  F.  W.  Farquhar,  chief  engineer  of  that  department. 
The  work  which  devolved  upon  the  men  was  hard  and  difficult, 
but  it  was  discharged  in  a  manner  to  win  unqualified  praise. 
Among  the  more  notable  service  of  the  company  was  the  build- 
ing and  maintaining  of  the  pontoon  bridges  across  the  Appo- 
mattox, connecting  the  armies  of  the  James  and  the  Potomac,  the 
bridges  across  the  James  river  used  in  the  frequent  crossing  of 
the  federal  armies  during  the  siege  of  Petersburg,  the  pontoon 
bridge  at  Farmville  by  which  the  Second  and  Sixth  corps  crossed 
in  the  pursuit  of  Lee's  retreating  army,  and  that  across  the 
James  at  Richmond,  by  which  all  the  union  armies  crossed  on 
their  way  to  Washington  after  the  close  of  the  war.  The  com- 
pany also  ran  captured  saw  mills,  supplying  lumber  for  hos- 
pitals and  other  purposes,  built  wharves  and  roads,  and  per- 
formed the  many  other  duties  devolving  upon  engineers.  The 
company  was  the  last  of  its  regiment  to  leave  the  service,  being 
mustered  out  September  26,  1865. 

The  Thirtieth  Unattached  Company  Heavy  Artillery.— This 
company  was  recruited  for  one  year's  service,  leaving  the  camp 
at  Gallop's  Island  September  26,  1864.  It  was  almost  exclu- 
sively composed  of  Springfield  men,  and  was  thus  officered : 

Captain,  Samuel  R.  Bingham  of  Boston ;   first   lieutenants, 

(      218      ) 


THE   ^YAB  OF  1861-65 

Morrill  Prescott  of  Springfield  and  AVilliani  AY.  Jordan  of  Bos- 
ton ;  second  lieutenant,  Samuel  F.  Siskron  of  Springfield. 

The  company  served  on  guard  and  garrison  duty  as  directed 
in  the  defenses  of  Washington,  and  was  mustered  out  of  service 
June  16,  1865. 

In  addition  to  these  organizations  Avhich  were  more  or  less 
closely  identified  with  the  county,  Hampden  was  represented  in 
other  commands  by  officers  and  men  of  sterling  character.  Many 
such  rendered  service  to  the  credit  of  other  states,  so  that  it  is  an 
impossibility  to  give  names  or  their  number :  those  credited  on 
the  official  records  of  Massachusetts  are  as  follows: 

The  First  Infantry. — Four  enlisted  men. 

The  Second  In fantry .Surgeon,  Curtis  E.  Munn  of  West- 
field  ;  hospital  steward,  Warren  A.  Root  of  Springfield ;  fifty-one 
enlisted  men. 

TJie  Fourth  Infantry — 1862-3.— Assistant  surgeon,  Edward 
M.  Norton  of  Blandford. 

The  Fifth  Infantry— 1864:.— Three  enlisted  men. 

The  Sixth  Infantry — 1861.  — Two  enlisted  men. 

Ttie  Nintli  I nf ant ry .—Fourteen  enlisted  men. 

The  Eleventh  Infantry.— 'Ele\en  enlisted  men. 

The  Twelfth  Infantry. — Seven  enlisted  men. 

The  Fifteenth  Infantry.  — C&itiam,  Adoniram  J.  Bradley  of 
Russell;  twenty-one  enlisted  men. 

The  Sixteenth  Infantry. — Twenty-one  enlisted  men. 

The  Seventeenth  Infantry. — Second  lieutenant,  Orrin  B. 
Cooley  of  Longmeadow ;  sixty-five  enlisted  men  (mostly  trans- 
ferred from  Second  H.  A.) 

The  Nineteenth  Infantry. — Fifty-four  enlisted  men. 

llic  Twentieth  Infantry. — First-lieutenant,  James  O'Con- 
nor of  Springfield ;  seventy-four  enlisted  men. 

The  Twenty-second  Infantry. — Twenty-six  enlisted  men. 

Tlie  Twenty-fourth  Infantry.— ¥ir?.t  lieutenant.  Jere  Hor- 
ton  of  TVestfield;  thirty-three  enlisted  men. 

The  Twenty-fifth  Infantry.  — Sixteen  enlisted  men. 

The  Twenty-sixth  Infantry.— Y'lwe  enlisted  men. 

The  Twenty-eighth  Infantry.  — Thirty-tour  enlisted  men. 

(      219      ) 


OLR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

The  Tn-c)i(ii-)ii)il]i  lufaiitrij.  —  Eighteen  enlisted  men. 

The  lliirtieth  I nfa)ttry.  —  i>e\en  enlisted  men. 

The  Thiriij-seeoid  I  nf  an  try. —  Seventy-three    enlisted    men. 

The  Thivly-third  l)ifa)itry.  — Two  enlisted  men. 

TJie  Forty-fifth  Infantry.  — Two  enlisted  men. 

The  Furty-)nnth  I nfa)t try.— Assistant  surgeon,  Albert  R. 
Rice  of  Springfield ;  four  enlisted  men. 

The  Fifty-second  Infantry.  —  Sexen  enlisted  men. 

The  Fifty-fourth  Infantry.  — Csiptain,  Watson  W.  Bridge  of 
Springfield;  seventeen  enlisted  men. 

The  Fifty-fifth  Infantry.  — CaiptSim,  Robert  J.  Hamilton  of 
Springfield ;  first  lieutenant,  Charles  W.  Mutell  of  Springfield ; 
thirteen  enlisted  men. 

The  Fifty-sixth  I nf a )i try.— Assistant  surgeon,  Jerome  E. 
Roberts  of  Springfield;  eighteen  enlisted  men. 

Tlie  Fifty-seventh  Infantry.  — Assistant  surgeon,  Charles  0. 
Carpenter  of  Holyoke ;  captain,  George  H.  Howe  of  Monson ; 
second  lieutenant,  John  Anderson  of  Holland ;  second  lieutenant, 
Henry  B.  Fiske  of  Springfield :  second  lieutenant,  George  S. 
Greene  of  Springfield;  second  lieutenant.  Patrick  Gilmore  of 
West  Springfield ;  115  enlisted  men. 

The  Fifty-eighth  Infantry.—FAghteen  enlisted  men. 

The  Fifty-ninth  Infantry.— Assistant  surgeon,  Edward  W. 
Norton  of  Blandf  ord ;  seven  enlisted  men. 

The  Sixty-first  Infantry.— First  lieutenant,  Albert  E.  Dan- 
iels of  Agawam ;  hospital  steward,  Austin  Moody  of  Westfield ; 
ninety  enlisted  men. 

The  First  Battery  Light  Art iller^y. —  Three  enlisted  men. 

The  Second  Battery  Light  Artillery.— Three  enlisted  men. 

The  Fifth  Battery  Light  Artillery.  — Two  enlisted  men. 

The  Sixth  Battery  Light  Artillery.  — Thirteen  enlisted  men. 

The  Seventh  Battery  Light  Artillery.— Fixe  enlisted  men. 

The  Ninth  Battery  Light  Artillery.— Three  enlisted  men. 

The  Tenth  Battery  Light  Artillery.— Three  enlisted  men. 

The  Eleventh  Battery  Light  Artillery.— Two  enlisted  men. 

The  Tu-elfth  Battery  Light  Artillery. Sixteen  enlisted 
men. 

(      220      ) 


THE   MAR  OF  1861-65 

The  Thirteenth  Battery  LigJit  Artillery.— 'i<lme  enlisted 
men. 

The  Fourteenth  Battery  Light  Artillery.  — y^me  enlisted 
men. 

The  Fifteenth  Battery  Light  Artillery.— Kine  enlisted  men. 

TJie  First  Heavy  Artillery— Twenty-nme  enlisted  men. 

The  Seeoncl  Heavy  Artillery.— C-Aptam,  Ira  B.  Sampson  of 
Springfield;  first  lieutenant,  Samuel  R.  Bingham  of  Westfield; 
first  lieutenant,  Joseph  F.  Field  of  Westfield ;  first  lieutenant, 
Alfred  H.  Kinsley  of  Springfield;  first  lieutenant,  Horace  L. 
Clark  of  Springfield;  282  enlisted  men. 

The  Fourth  Heavy  Artillcry.-Y^x^t  enlisted  men. 

The  First  Battalion  Heavy  J.r(i/Zer^.— Thirty-nine  enlisted 
men. 

The  Twenty -ninth  Unattached  Compa}ty  Heavy  Artillery. — 
Twenty-two  enlisted  men. 

The  First  CV/va/r?/.  — Surgeon,  James  Holland  of  Westfield; 
assistant  surgeon,  Oscar  C.  DeWolf  of  Chester;  assistant  sur- 
geon, Albert  R.  Rice  of  Springfield:  chaplain,  George  W.  Gor- 
ham  of  Holyoke ;  captain,  Mj^^on  C.  Pratt  of  Holyoke ;  first  lieu- 
tenant, Alton  E.  Phillips  of  Chicopee ;  second  lieutenant,  Hor- 
ace j\I.  Butler  of  Springfield ;  second  lieutenant.  George  Howe  of 
Springfield :  second  lieutenant,  George  B.  Davis  of  Springfield ; 
quartermaster-sergeant,  Vashni  H.  Pease  of  Springfield ;  hos- 
pital steward,  Henry  B.  Bates  of  Chicopee ;  hospital  steward, 
Curtis  E.  ]\Iunn  of  Westfield;  chief  bugler,  Timothy  J.  Powell 
of  Blandford ;  sergeant-farrier,  Benjamin  W.  Norris  of  Spring- 
field ;  270  enlisted  men. 

The  Second  Cavalry.  — Siivgeon,  Oscar  C.  DeWolf  of  Ches- 
ter; surgeon,  Elbridge  M.  Johnson  of  Agawam;  fifty-one  enlisted 
men. 

The  Third  Cavalry. — First  lieutenant,  Henry  S.  Adams  of 
Chicopee;  second  lieutenant,  Duett  C.  Clark  of  Westfield;  thirty- 
two  enlisted  men. 

The  Fr/urth  Cavalry.— Second  lieutenant,  Heniy  INI.  Phil- 
lips of  Springfield ;  ninety-seven  enlisted  men. 

The  Fifth  Cavalry.  — Thivty-ionr  enlisted  men. 

(      221      ) 


01 R  COUNTY  AXD  ITS  PEOPLE 

The  Veteran  Reserve  Corps.— Eighty-eight  enlisted  men. 

The  Regular  J. nx^.— Thirty-two  enlisted  men. 

Other  State  Organizations.— Thu-ty-^xe  enlisted  men. 
(Nearly  all  from  the  eastern  towns  of  the  county,  for  the  First 
District  of  Columbia  Infantry.) 

In  addition  to  the  above,  thirteen  other  Massachusetts  com- 
mands had  on  their  rolls  one  or  more  men  each  from  Hampden 
county,  so  that  it  will  be  seen  that  eighty  Massachusetts  organ- 
izations had  representatives  from  the  county.  This  does  not 
take  into  account  the  very  large  number  of  those  enlisting  into 
the  troops  of  other  states  of  which  no  returns  were  made  to  the 
Massachusetts  authorities.  Could  the  number  of  these  be  even 
approximately  estimated  it  would  measurably  swell  the  already 
highly  creditable  total. 

One  fact  which  will  strike  even  the  ca,sual  reader  is  the  very 
low  proportion  of  commissions  issued  to  oflficers  from  Hampden 
county.  This  fact  may  be  partially  explained  by  the  small  rep- 
resentation of  the  county  in  the  state  militia  at  the  outbreak  of 
the  war.  Other  factors  which  must  be  taken  into  account  are 
the  strong  political  and  local  pressure  brought  upon  the  governor 
for  the  commissioning  of  ambitious  aspirants  in  every  portion  of 
the  state  and  from  without  the  confines  of  the  commonwealth. 
It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  the  Hampden  soldiei's  were  indiffer- 
ent to  the  honor  embodied  in  commissions ;  but  the  entire  history 
of  the  war  period  shows  first  of  all  an  intense  patriotic  devotion, 
which  was  willing  to  waive  and  sacrifice  deserved  recognition, 
rather  than  that  the  imperilled  government  of  the  nation  should 
fail  to  receive  the  fullest  measure  of  matei-ial  support.  That 
there  was  no  lack  of  material  for  efficient  commanders  within 
the  limits  of  the  county  is  shown  by  the  admirable  average  main- 
tained by  those  who  received  commissions.  Among  the  general 
officers  in  the  national  service  during  the  war  period  there  were 
many  whom  Hampden  county  might  .justly  claim  as  her  direct 
representatives,  and  whose  service  was  well  worth  having,  as  will 
be  seen  from  the  foUowins'  very  brief  sketches. 


(      222      ) 


THE    WAll  OF  1861-6; 


GENERAL   OFFICERS 


Brevet  Major-Gcneral  James  Barnes  of  Springfield  gradu- 
ated at  the  military  academy,  West  Point,  in  the  class  of  1829. 
He  passed  a  year  there  as  assistant  instrnctor,  took  part  in  the 
Black  Hawk  expedition  of  1832,  and  during  the  nullification  con- 
troversy soon  after  was  stationed  in  Charleston  hai'bor.  He  then 
returned  to  AVest  Point  as  assistant  instructor,  resigning  after 
three  years'  service.  He  became  noted  as  civil  engineer  and  a 
builder  of  railroads,  and  was  e;igaged  in  large  business  enter- 
prises when  the  war  broke  out.  But  nothing  could  stand  be- 
tween him  and  the  service  of  his  country  in  its  hour  of  need,  and 
on  the  26th  of  July,  1861,  he  was  conmiissioned  colonel  of  the 
Eighteenth  Massachusetts  infantry.  He  commanded  his  regi- 
ment with  great  ability  till  after  the  close  of  the  Peninsular  cam- 
paign, when  he  succeeded  to  the  command  of  Martindale's  brig- 
ade of  the  Fifth  corps,  and,  dating  from  November  29,  1862,  was 
promoted  to  brigadier-general  of  volunteers.  He  commanded 
this  brigade  during  the  Autietam,  Fredericksburg  and  Chancel- 
lorsville  campaigns,  and  at  Gettysburg  had  risen  to  command 
the  First  division.  Fifth  corps.  Leading  his  forces  to  the  relief 
of  Sickles'  corps  near  the  close  of  the  second  day's  fighting,  he 
was  wounded  and  did  not  again  return  to  active  duty  in  the 
field.  He  was  assigned  to  the  command  of  the  defenses  of  Nor- 
folk, Va.,  then  of  St.  Mary's  district,  and  finally  of  the  encamp- 
ment of  confederate  prisoners  at  Point  Lookout,  Md.,  where  he 
remained  until  the  close  of  the  war,  receiving  his  brevet  rank  of 
major-general  of  volunteers  to  date  from  March  13,  1865.  He 
remained  in  commission  till  January  15,  1866,  when  he  was  mus- 
tered out  and  returned  to  his  home,  but  never  regained  his 
health,  dying  there  on  the  12th  of  February,  1869. 

Brevet  Brigadier-General  Bobert  E.  Clary,  a  native  of 
Springfield,  was  appointed  from  Massachusetts  to  the  military 
academy  at  West  Point  in  1823,  graduating  July  1. 
1828,  when  he  was  commissioned  a  second  lieutenant. 
He  served  in  various  portions  of  the  country,  rising  in 
rank,     until     the     opening     of    the     rebellion     found     him     a 

(      223      ) 


OVli  COUNTY  AiXD  ITS  PEOPLE 

staff  major  and  chief  quartermaster  of  the  department  of  Utah. 
His  service  was  principally  in  the  quartermaster's  department, 
and  he  Avas  chief  quartermaster  of  the  department  of  West  Vir- 
ginia from  November,  1861,  to  July,  1862,  then  of  the  army  of 
Virginia  under  General  Pope,  then  of  the  department  of  the 
Northwest  to  the  20th  of  March,  1863.  He  then  served  in  the 
quartermaster-general's  office  at  Washington  till  August  24, 
1864,  when  he  Avas  placed  in  charge  of  the  Memphis  depot,  where 
he  remained  till  the  close  of  the  war.  He  was  commissioned 
lieutenant-colonel  in  the  regular 'line  April  15,  1864,  colonel  July 
29,  1866,  and  was  retired  February  22,  1869,  being  over  sixty- 
two  years  of  age.  He  was  brevetted  brigadier-general  from  the 
13th  of  ]March,  1865,  on  account  of  faithful  and  meritorious  ser- 
vices during  the  rebellion. 

Brigadkr-Gcneral  V^'iUiam  Dirlght  was  born  at  Springfield 
in  1831,  entered  a  military  school  at  West  Point,  N.  Y.,  at  the 
age  of  15,  and  afterward  studied  at  the  military  academy  there, 
which  he  left  before  graduation  to  enter  manufacturing  business. 
Wlien  the  Avar  broke  out,  being  then  at  Philadelphia,  he  offered 
his  services  to  the  government,  and  May  14,  1861,  Avas  commis- 
sioned as  a  captain  in  the  Fourteenth  U.  S.  infantry.  On  the 
organization  of  the  Seventieth  Ncav  York  infantry.  Col.  Daniel 
E.  Sickles,  Captain  Dwight  Avas  commissioned  as  second  in  com- 
mand, and  on  the  promotion  of  Sickles  to  brigadier  Avas  commis- 
sioned as  colonel.  He  led  his  regiment  Avith  great  gallantry  at 
the  battle  of  AA^illiamsburg,  May  6,  1862,  Avhere  he  received  three 
Avounds,  being  disabled  and  made  prisoner,  but  Avas  left  in  hos- 
pital on  parole.  After  exchange  and  recoA'ery  he  Avas  made 
brigadier-general  of  volunteers  from  November  29,  1862,  and 
soon  afterAvard  .joined  the  forces  of  General  Banks  in  Louisiana. 
He  commanded  a  brigade  of  the  Nineteenth  corps  in  the  opera- 
tions against  Port  Hudson,  and  served  on  the  commission  to  set- 
tle the  terms  of  surrender.  At  the  Ped  River  campaign  of  the 
succeeding  spring  he  Avas  made  chief  of  staff  to  General  Banks. 
Accompanying  that  portion  of  his  corps  sent  north  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1864,  he  commanded  the  First  diAdsion  during  its  opera- 
tions in  the  Shenandoah  valley,  continuing  in  the  serAdce  until 

(      224      ) 


THE   MAE  OF  1861-65 

January  15.  ISHH,  Avlien  he  was  mustered  out  after  almost  five 
3'ears  of  highly  honorable  service. 

Brevet  Major-Gcneral  Oliver  Edtcards  of  Springfield  en- 
tered the  service  as  adjutant  of  the  Tenth  infantiy,  but  was  soon 
detailed  as  senior  aide  on  the  staff  of  ( ien.  Darius  N.  Couch,  com- 
manding the  division,  in  Avhich  capacity  he  served  with  distinc- 
tion till  early  August,  1862,  when  he  was  commissioned  major 
and  directed  to  organize  the  Thirty-seventh  infantry,  of  which 
he  was  made  colonel.  He  made  of  his  regiment  one  of  the  best 
disciplined  and  most  effective  in  the  army  of  the  Potomac.  On 
the  9th  of  May,  1864,  he  took  command  of  his  brigade,  which  he 
led  with  distinction  till  July  6,  1864,  when  it  was  consolidated 
with  another  brigade,  of  which  he  was  made  commander.  AYith 
this  force  he  fought  at  Fort  Stevens  and  the  Opequan  in  the 
campaign  against  General  Early.  At  the  latter  battle  he  com- 
manded the  First  division.  Sixth  corps,  after  the  death  of  Gen- 
eral Russell  and  the  wounding  of  General  Upton,  and  in  recog- 
nition of  his  services  on  that  occasion  he  was  made  post  com- 
mandant at  Winchester,  with  his  brigade  and  some  other  troops 
as  garrison.  This  position  he  retained  for  some  time  after  the 
return  of  the  Sixth  corps  to  the  army  of  the  Potomac,  and  was 
ofiPered  by  General  Sheridan  the  position  of  provost  marshal- 
general  on  his  staff ;  but  Edwards  preferred  the  command  of  his 
old  brigade,  to  which,  at  his  special  request,  he  was  returned  in 
February,  1865.  In  the  assault  of  April  2,  1865,  on  the  lines  at 
Petersburg,  his  brigade  took  an  important  part,  being  the  first  to 
break  through  the  confederate  works,  and  the  next  morning  he 
received  from  the  mayor  of  Petersberg  the  surrender  of  the  city, 
very  soon  after  its  evacuation  by  General  Lee.  For  his  services 
at  this  time  he  received  the  commission  of  brigadier-general  of 
volunteers,  to  date  from  May  19,  having  been  brevetted  for  his 
gallantry  at  Opequan,  and  in  the  sharp  fight  at  Sailor's  Creek, 
April  6,  he  Avon  the  brevet  of  major-general.  He  remained  in 
the  service  until  January  15,  1866,  when  he  was  honorably  dis- 
charged. 

Major-General  Erasmus  Doricin  Keyes  was  a  native  of 
Brimfield,  where  he  was  born  in  1810,  was  appointed  from  Maine 

15-1  (      225      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

to  the  military  academy  at  West  Point,  from  which  he  graduated 
in  1832.  His  service  up  to  the  outbreak  of  the  rebellion  had 
been  varied,  and  at  that  time  he  was  military  secretary  for  Gen- 
eral Scott.  He  was  commissioned  colonel  of  the  Eleventh  U.  S. 
infantry.  May  14,  1861,  three  days  later  was  made  brigadier- 
general  of  volunteers,  and  was  for  a  time  engaged  at  Boston  and 
New  York  in  the  duties  of  raising,  equipping  and  forwarding 
troops.  He  returned  to  AVashington,  however,  in  time  to  com- 
mand a  brigade  at  the  battle  of  Bull  Run,  July  21,  1861.  In 
the  organization  of  the  army  of  the  Potomac  for  the  campaign  of 
1862  he  was  made  commander  of  the  Fourth  corps,  and  was  com- 
missioned major-general  of  volunteers  from  the  5t.h  of  May.  He 
shared  in  the  operations  against  Yorktown,  and  after  the  battle 
of  Williamsburg  led  the  advance  up  the  Peninsula.  It  was  upon 
his  corps  that  the  weight  of  the  confederate  attack  fell  at  the 
battle  of  Fair  Oaks,  May  31,  and  for  his  gallant  part  in  that 
action  he  received  the  brevet  of  brigadier-general  in  the  regular 
army.  On  the  withdrawal  of  the  army  of  the  Potomac  from  the 
Peninsula,  General  Keyes  was  left  in  connnand  at  Yorktown,  and 
in  the  temporary  absence  of  General  Dix  was  in  command  of  the 
department  of  Virginia.  In  July,  1863,  he  was  placed  on  the 
board  for  retiring  army  officei's,  where  he  served  until  May  6, 
1864,  when  he  resigned  his  commissions  and  returned  to  civil  life. 
Brevet  Brigadier-Generdl  Ralph  TV.  Kirl-ham  was  born  at 
Springtield,  graduated  at  West  Point  in  the  class  of  1842,  and 
was  commissioned  second  lieutenant  of  the  Second  U.  S.  infantry. 
He  served  as  adjutant  of  that  regiment  during  the  war  with 
Mexico,  being  brevetted  first  lieutenant  and  captain  for  gallant 
conduct,  and  was  wounded  at  the  battle  of  Molino  del  Rey.  In 
the  interval  between  the  Mexican  Avar  and  the  rebellion  he  served 
at  various  posts  as  assistant  adjutant-general  or  quartermaster, 
and  in  the  spring  of  1861  was  stationed  at  Fort  Walla  Walla  in 
W^ashington  territory  with  the  rank  of  captain.  He  was  chief 
quartermaster  of  the  department  of  the  Pacific  from  August  31, 
1861,  to  June,  1865,  and  of  the  department  of  California  from 
that  time  onward.  He  received  the  commission  of  major  Feb- 
ruary 26,  1863.  and  dating  from  March  13,  1865,  brevets  of  lieu- 

(      226      ) 


Brevet  Brigadier-General  Horace  C.  Lee 

Colonel  Twenty-Seventh  Massar-husetts  Infantry  Volunteers 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

tenant-colonel,  colonel,  and  brigadier-general,  '*for  faithful  and 
meritorious  services  in  the  quartermaster's  department  during 
the  rebellion."  He  resigned  his  commission  February  11,  1870. 
Brevet  Brigadier-General  Horace  C.  Lee  was  city  clerk  and 
treasurer  of  Springfield  at  the  opening  of  the  war,  and  had  sev- 
eral years  before  risen  to  the  rank  of  colonel  and  acting  brigadier 
in  the  state  militia.  In  August,  1861,  he  was  offered  the  lieuten- 
ant-colonelcy of  the  Twenty-first  infantry,  then  being  organized, 
and  on  going  to  Boston  to  accept  the  offer  was  given  permission 
to  raise  one  of  the  five  regiments  just  authorized.  He  organized 
the  Twenty-seventh  infantry,  which  he  ably  commanded  until 
July  4,  1862,  when  he  took  command  of  the  brigade,  leading  it  in 
the  Trenton,  Tarboro  and  Goldsboro  expeditions,  and  winning 
praise  for  the  able  handling  of  his  troops  in  repulsing  General 
Clingman's  attack  at  the  latter  engagement.  He  was  recom- 
mended by  General  Foster  for  promotion  to  the  rank  of  brigadier- 
general  of  volunteers,  but  the  commission  was  not  issued  on  ac- 
count of  the  large  number  already  given  to  Massachusetts  officers. 
When  General  Burnside  left  North  Carolina  to  take  command  of 
the  army  of  the  Potomac,  Colonel  Lee  was  appointed  provost 
marshal-general  of  North  Carolina,  and  later  of  the  department 
of  Virginia  and  North  Carolina,  and  acted  in  that  capacity  until 
the  office  was  abolished  by  General  Butler  in  January,  1864.  He 
then  served  upon  commissions  and  courts-martial  till  the  opening 
of  the  campaigTi  in  May  following,  when  he  resumed  command  of 
his  regiment,  leading  it  at  AValthal  Junction,  Arrowfield  Church 
and  Drewry's  Bluff.  In  the  latter  engagement  he  was  made 
prisoner  with  a  large  portion  of  his  command,  and  was  confined 
at  Libby  Prison  and  at  Macon,  Ga.  From  the  latter  place  he 
was  removed  June  10,  and  Avith  many  other  union  officers  was 
placed  under  the  fire  of  the  federal  batteries  at  Charleston,  S.  C. 
Being  exchanged  August  2,  1864,  he  went  north  on  a  month's 
furlough,  but  returned  to  Fortress  INIunroe  in  time  to  intercept 
his  regiment,  then  under  orders  for  North  Carolina,  and  procured 
the  return  to  Massachusetts  of  those  whose  time  was  about  to 
expire.  lie  Avas  mustered  out  with  them.  September  27,  1864, 
and  for  meritorious  service  received  a  well-deserved  brevet  of 

(      228      ) 


THE  ^yA^i  of  isei-es 

brigadier-general  of  volunteers,  dating  from  March  13,  1865. 
He  served  four  years  in  the  Boston  custom  house,  and  twelve 
years  as  postmaster  of  Springfield,  dying  June  22,  1884,  soon 
after  vacating  the  latter  office. 

THE  soldier's  REST 

From  the  earliest  days  of  the  great  contest  the  non-military 
population  of  the  county— men  for  any  reason  unable  to  enter 
military  service,  women,  and  even  children— were  earnest  and 
zealous  in  their  ministrations  in  behalf  of  the  soldiers.  Here  as 
elsewhere  throughout  the  country  this  devotion  manifested  itself 
in  countless  ways— in  the  preparation  of  comforts  and  conven- 
iences for  the  soldiers  as  they  left  their  homes  for  temporary 
encampments,  and  as  these  were  quitted  in  turn  for  the  more 
active  duties  of  the  service:  in  loving  messages  and  cheering 
words,  mingled  with  material  remembrances,  sent  to  the  absent 
ones;  in  ministrations  to  the  sick,  the  wounded,  and  the  needy, 
as  the  tide  of  war  rolled  on  and  filled  the  country  with  unfortu- 
nates. To  the  people  of  Hampden  county,  and  especially  of 
Springfield  and  its  vicinity,  the  work  of  the  latter  class  grew  in 
importance  and  in  volume  with  the  passing  months.  The  geo- 
graphical situation  of  the  city  was  such  that  most  of  the  return- 
ing soldiers  from  Vermont,  New  Hampshire,  central  and  western 
Massachusetts,  with  not  a  few  from  northern  New  York,  from  the 
eastern  portion  of  Massachusetts  and  from  JVlaine,  went  through 
by  train,  frequently  stopping  for  hours  within  the  city  limits. 

The  summer  of  1863  witnessed  the  return  from  service  of  the 
nine-months'  regiments,  many  of  their  members  suffering  from 
disease  or  wounds,  and  following  the  great  battles  of  that  year, 
especially  those  of  Chancellorsville  and  Gettysburg,  the  number 
of  wounded  and  otherwise  disabled  was  immensely  increased.  A 
commission  of  young  men  had  been  organized  in  the  city  in  1862, 
for  the  purpose  of  sending  supplies  and  assistance  to  the  front. 
It  was  officered  by  F.  A.  Brewer  as  president,  Charles  Marsh  as 
secretary,  and  Henry  S.  Lee  as  treasurer,  associated  with  whom 
were  numbers  of  others,  e(|ually  devoted  and  earnest.  In  doing 
the  work  for  which  the  organization  was  effected  they  had  ren- 

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OUR  COUNTY  AXD  ITS  PEOPLE 

dered  valuable  service  to  the  nation  and  to  their  friends ;  hnt  they 
now  realized  that  a  hi-oader  and  grander  service  was  demanded 
of  them  in  their  own  city.  At  all  lioiirs  of  the  day  and  night  sick 
and  wounded  soldiers  were  passing  through,  often  sadly  in  need 
of  refreshment,  care,  and  nursing,  for  which  there  were  no  ade- 
quate facilities.  To  lealize  was  to  act.  and  early  in  August, 
1863,  a  small  wooden  building  had  been  secured  and  fitted  up  on 
Kailroad  street,  close  to  the  union  depot.  This  was  very  appro- 
priately named  "The  Soldiers'  Rest,"  and  for  nine  or  ten  months 
it  served  admirably  the  purpose  for  which  it  was  intended.  But 
the  terrible  campaigns  of  1864  filled  all  the  hospitals  of  the 
country  to  overflowing,  and  a  vastly  increased  number  were  sent 
into  New  England.  To  meet  the  demand  thus  created,  a  larger 
building  was  erected,  permanent  attendants  were  secured,  and  a 
hospital  department,  well  equipped  in  every  way,  was  provided. 
Up  to  November,  1864,  9,243  soldiers  had  been  cared  for.  There 
was  no  slackening  in  the  demands  made  upon  the  Rest,  but  the 
raising  of  the  necessary  funds  to  carry  on  the  work  had  become  a 
serious  problem.  The  gift  of  a  ciuantity  of  produce  from  some 
Vermont  farmers,  however,  suggested  the  idea  of  a  fair  at  the 
Springfield  city  hall.  This  was  planned  on  a  broad  scale  by  a 
strong  committee  of  the  leading  men  and  women  of  the  city,  with 
the  wife  of  Gen.  James  Barnes  as  president.  It  was  held  during 
four  days  of  the  week,  beginning  Monday,  December  19,  1864, 
and  proved  successful  beyond  the  most  sanguine  expectations. 
Governor  Andrew  and  staff  were  present  the  second  evening,  and 
enthusiasm  ran  high  during  the  entire  period.  "When  the  final 
footings  w^ere  made,  it  was  shown  that  the  net  proceeds  reached 
the  handsome  total  of  about  $19,000,  and  this  by  judicious  invest- 
ment yielded  in  interest  and  profit  upward  of  $11,000  more.  Not 
all  of  the  credit  for  this  magnificent  showing  should,  however,  be 
given  to  Spi-ingfield.  Other  comnnmities  co-operated,  and  nearly 
all  of  the  towns  of  the  county  were  represented  at  the  fair  and  in 
the  work  of  the  Rest,  in  some  degree. 

The  unexpectedly  generous  result  of  the  undertaking  pro- 
vided ample  funds  for  continuing  the  work  of  the  Soldiers'  Rest, 
which  was  carried  on  with  unabated  zeal  dui-ing  the  remainder  of 

(      230      ) 


THE   ^yAB  OF   1861-65 

the  war  period  — fortunately  but  a  few  months— and  until  the 
disbandment  of  the  union  armies,  and  the  return  of  the  soldiers 
to  their  homes.  AVhen  the  building  was  no  longer  required  for 
its  original  purposes,  it  was  sold  and  removed  to  Loring  street  in 
the  same  city,  where  quite  appropriately  it  was  adapted  as  a 
ehurch  building  for  one  of  the  religious  societies  of  colored  peo- 
ple, and  was  thus  occupied  for  thirty  years.  Meantime,  through 
the  agency  of  a  permanent  organization,  the  balance  of  the  fund 
w^as  employed  for  the  relief  of  needy  soldiers  and  their  dependent 
ones,  until  the  organization  of  E.  K.  Wilcox  Post  of  the  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic,  by  which  that  class  of  work  was  taken  up 
and  carried  on.  Up  to  this  time  it  appeared  that  not  less  than 
17,000  persons  had  been  ministered  to,  with  a  total  expenditure 
of  over  $80,000. 

A  considerable  sum  still  remaining  in  the  hands  of  the  trus- 
tees, it  Avas  decided  to  invest  the  same  in  a  "soldiers'  lot"  of  gen- 
erous size  in  the  Springfield  cemetery,  and  to  mark  the  spot  by  an 
appropriate  monument.  For  the  latter  purpose  the  war  depart- 
ment made  a  donation  of  condemned  brass  cannon,  but  a  very 
satisfactory  monument  being  purchased  complete,  the  cannon 
were  used  as  an  additional  decoration  for  the  lot,  which  is  now 
filled  to  almost  its  full  capacity  with  the  graves  of  those  whom,  as 
the  years  have  rolled  on,  it  has  given  a  welcome  and  appropriate 
place  of  sepulture. 

Thus  was  admirably  shown  by  the  people  of  Hampden  coun- 
ty, primarily  their  intense  patriotic  devotion,  which  did  not 
shrink  from  any  necessary  sacrifice  of  personal  service  or  of 
financial  contribution,  that  "the  government  established  by  the 
fathers"  should  not  be  overthrown ;  and  secondarily  that  sympa- 
thy and  tenderness  of  heart  which  was  ready  to  make  supplemen- 
tal sacrifices,  with  an  equal  heroism  and  an  equal  devotion,  in 
order  that  so  far  as  possible  the  horrors  of  war  might  be  miti- 
gated, the  needy  and  the  suffering  be  tenderly  cared  for,  and, 
when  the  march  of  life  was  ended,  appropriate  burial  be  insured. 
Thus  was  the  full  measure  of  patriotic  purpose,  of  unswerving 
fidelity,  of  tireless  consecration,  given  by  these  people,  the 
memory  of  whose  noble  deeds  shall  ever  be  cherished  as  a  precious 
heritage. 

(      231      ) 


CHAPTER  XVI 

EDUCATION    IN   HAMPDEN   COUNTY 
BY  JAMES  CARRUTHERS   GREENOUGH,   LL.  D. 

The  word  education  is  used  to  denote  two  things— an  end  to 
be  gained  and  the  means  to  gain  it.  Education,  as  an  end,  has 
been  defined,  the  realization  of  ideal  manhood.  Education,  as  a 
means,  includes  all  that  tends  to  promote  that  end.  Physical 
environment  and  social  environment  are  means  of  education  as 
well  as  the  specific  means  employed  in  schools. 

Hampden  county,  extending  from  the  heights  of  the  Appala- 
chian system  on  the  west,  across  the  broad  valley  of  the  Connecti- 
cut to  the  central  highlands  of  the  State  on  the  east,  includes 
almost  every  variety  of  scenery  furnishing  varied  conditions  of 
educational  culture. 

The  dwellers  among  the  hills  on  the  west  and  on  the  east, 
from  the  times  of  the  early  settlers,  have  been  a  sturdy  yeomanry 
of  marked  individuality,  accustomed  to  reach  conclusions  by  their 
own  thought,  and  to  hold  them  tenaciously,  as  men  are  accus- 
tomed to  hold  that  which  is  their  own.  Gaining  their  livelihood 
by  felling  the  forests  and  working  their  hillside  fanns.  their  con- 
tact with  nature  under  typical  conditions  of  New  England  life 
tended  to  make  them  typical  New  England  men— men  patient 
and  truthful  in  thought,  courageous  in  action,  and  ever  respon- 
sive to  moral  ideals.  Those  reared  in  the  country  homes  of  the 
county  have  maintained  from  generation  to  generation  the  sturdy 
virtues  of  their  ancestors,  while  many  making  homes  elsewhere 
have  sustained  by  their  thought  and  energy  the  worthy  enter- 
prises of  other  eomnuniities. 

(      232       ) 


EDUCATION 

The  broad  Connecticut  valley  dividing  the  county,  with  allu- 
vial meadows  bordered  by  extensive  plains,  gives  opportunity  for 
easy  communication.  In  this  section  the  manufacturing  and 
allied  interests  seem  destined  more  and  more  to  eclipse  the  agri- 
cultural, though  the  meadows  of  the  Connecticut  are  far  famed 
for  their  productiveness  and  are  justly  styled  the  garden  of  New 
England.  The  dominating  center  of  this  valley  section  is  the 
rapidly  growing  city  of  Springfield.  The  superior  public  schools 
and  other  educational  advantages  render  this  city  peculiarly 
attractive  as  a  place  of  residence,  though  some  prefer  for  a  home 
the  younger  city,  Chicopee,  or  the  outlying  villages  of  Long- 
meadow,  West  Springfield,  and  Agawam.  The  public  schools  of 
Springfield  maintain  a  standard  of  excellence  to  which  all  other 
schools  in  the  valley  aspire. 

The  sons  and  daughters  of  hill-town  farmers  have  readily 
availed  themselves  of  the  opportunities  of  the  valley  schools,  and 
no  students  have  more  merited  distinction  in  our  higher  insti- 
tutions, whether  in  the  academies,  or  later,  in  the  high  schools 
and  in  the  State  Normal  school  at  Westfield.  The  recent  laws  of 
the  state  have  made  the  high  schools  of  larger  communities  avail- 
able to  pupils  from  towns  too  small  to  maintain  secondary  schools 
of  high  grade.  Those  in  every  part  of  the  county  may  now 
advance  from  the  primary  school,  through  all  the  grades  of  the 
public  schools  to  college  or  other  higher  institutions  with  well 
nigh  equal  freedom. 

In  the  valley  section  of  the  county,  social  life  has  received  a 
development  under  conditions  more  favorable  than  those  in  the 
more  sparsely  populated  sections ;  but  the  extension  of  steam  and 
trolley  lines,  and  the  improvement  of  highways  are  so  facilitating 
communication,  that  social  and  educational  advantages  are  less 
and  less  limited  by  the  boundaries  of  towns  and  the  locality  of 
one's  home.  Towns  unable  alone  to  employ  skilled  superintend- 
ents of  schools  are  grouped  in  districts.  The  schools  of  each 
district  are  put  in  charge  of  a  superintendent  in  part  paid  by  the 
state.  These  superintendents,  with  the  generous  co-operation  of 
school  committees,  are  doing  much  to  help  schools  in  the  smaller 
towns  to  keep  pace  Avith  the  schools  of  like  grade  in  larger  towns. 

(      233      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  ASD  ITS  PEOPLE 

If  we  study  tlie  l^eginiiings  of  tlie  eoiinnon  schools  of  our 
State  and  county  we  are  led  to  notice  causes  operating  before  the 
settlement  of  JNIassachusetts. 

The  reformation  under  Luther  transferred  the  authority  of 
deciding  I'eligious  questions  in  Protestant  communities  from  the 
church  and  the  priesthood  to  the  individual,  as  taught  by  the 
Word  of  God,  and  enlightened  by  the  Holy  Spirit.  Calvin  em- 
phasized this  view,  and  urged  the  necessity  and  the  religious  duty 
of  the  intellectual  as  well  as  the  religious  culture  of  all,  that  each 
might  be  able  to  interpret  the  Bible  for  himself.  Calvinism 
found  full  expression  in  the  earlier  churches  of  Massachusetts. 
The  maintenance  of  public  schools,  our  Puritan  ancestors  con- 
sidered a  religious  duty.  The  church  and  the  school  were  coun- 
terparts, each  of  the  other. 

The  horn  book  and  the  New  England  primer  were  the  text 
books  of  the  primary  or  dame  school,  as  it  Avas  called,  in  early 
colonial  times.  This  primer  is  a  remarkable  medley  of  the 
alphabet,  "easy  syllables,"  rude  rhymes  setting  forth  Bible 
events  illustrated  by  what  now  seem  ludicrous  wood  cuts,  Bible 
quotations,  followed  by  verses  full  of  solemn  and  direful  admoni- 
tions respecting  death  and  hell,  and  much  religious  counsel.  The 
primer  also  contains  that  elaborate  compend  of  theological  wis- 
dom—The Assembly's  shorter  catechism— a  title  in  contrast 
with  the  time  spent  in  memorizing  its  statements.  The  boys  at 
suitable  age  were  transferred  to  the  master's  or  grammar  school, 
where  those  who  wished  could  be  made  ready  for  Harvard  col- 
lege, by  reading,  spelling,  Avriting.  working  dictated  problems  on 
their  slates,  and  nnich  wearisome  plodding  in  Latin  grammar. 

The  girls,  for  the  most  part  having  completed  their  schooling 
when  they  left  the  dame  school,  entered  upon  their  practical 
training  in  spinning,  weaving,  and  other  departments  of  house- 
wifery. The  public  schools  w^ere  supervised  by  the  ministers, 
who  were  quite  as  ready  to  test  the  theological  and  the  biblical 
knowledge  of  the  pupils  as  their  secular  knowledge.  Boys  had 
an  added  motive  for  attending  to  the  long  doctrinal  sermon  on 
Sunday,  in  the  fact  that  the  minister  might  visit  the  school  on 
Monday  and  question  them  about  it. 

(      234      ) 


EDUCATION 

The  coming  into  the  colonies  of  men  of  different  religious  be- 
liefs at  length  abated  the  religious  zeal  in  the  maintenance  of 
l)ublic  schools.  The  Indian  and  the  French  wars  exhausted 
funds,  which  in  part,  at  least,  would  in  more  peaceful  times  have 
been  used  to  strengthen  the  schools.  Poverty  seemed  to  furnish 
some  reasonable  excuse  for  non-compliance  with  the  statute  of 
16-17,  requiring  the  maintenance  of  elementary,  and  of  grammar 
schools  the  embryo  high  schools  of  the  time.  Yet  the  school  laws 
were  not  to  be  i-uthlessly  disregarded.  Towns  in  our  county, 
as  well  as  in  other  counties,  were  summoned  to  court  to  answer 
for  their  delinquencies.  In  1769.  AVales  was  fined  for  not  main- 
taining a  grammar  school.  Three  years  earlier,  Brimfield  suf- 
fered a  like  penalty  for  a  similar  neglect. 

The  tendency  to  disregard  the  authority  of  the  state  led  to 
the  decentralization  of  the  school  system.  By  the  laws  of  1789 
towns  were  allowed  to  divide  their  areas  into  school  districts. 
While  this  district  system  seemed  to  be  in  the  interest  of  local 
government  and  seemed  to  encourage  local  effort,  it  hastened  the 
decline  of  the  common  school.  It  relieved  the  towns  from  re- 
sponsibility in  the  conduct  of  the  schools,  and  too  often  lodged 
it  in  irresponsible  hands.  The  Avork  of  administrative  disintegra- 
tion went  on.  In  1800,  the  raising  of  money  by  tax  for  the 
support  of  schools  was  conferred  upon  the  several  districts ;  in 
1817,  the  school  districts  were  made  corporations ;  and  in  1827, 
the  whole  matter  of  selecting  and  hiring  teachers  and  the  man- 
agement of  the  schools  was  conferred  upon  the  districts,  save  that 
the  town  conmiittee  Avas  to  examine  candidates  presented  by  the 
prudential  committees  of  the  districts  and  decide  the  fitness  of 
these  candidates  for  the  position  of  teacher.  This  examination 
usually  occurred  just  before  the  opening  of  the  Avinter  and  spring 
terms  of  the  schools,  and  as  only  those  Avere  examined  Avho  had 
been  selected  by  the  committees  in  the  several  districts,  the  town 
committee  must  approve  the  candidates,  or  practically  close  the 
schools  for  a  time.  The  examination  Avas  usually  short,  and 
teachers  of  very  inferior  quality  frequently  found  their  Avay 
into  the  schools.  The  continued  decline  of  the  connnon  schools 
Avas  inevitable.     The  half  century  covering  the  period  betAveen 

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OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

1789  and  1839  has  been  termed  the  "Dark  Age"  of  our  common 
schools. 

However  depressed  the  condition  of  the  common  schools.  o\v- 
ing  to  the  poverty  and  disorder  incident  to  the  revolutionary  war, 
however  culpable  the  neglect  of  the  common  schools,  and  however 
unworthy  of  the  high  aims  of  the  original  founders,  the  people  of 
Massachusetts  never  lost  sight  of  the  true  moral  function  of 
every  school.  AVhen  the  war  was  over  and  the  national  govern- 
ment was  established  under  our  present  constitution,  the  people 
of  INIassachusetts.  through  their  legislature  by  the  act  of  1789. 
laid  the  educational  cornerstone  of  the  civil  fabric  in  these 
words : 

"It  shall  be  the  dut}^  of  the  president,  professors  and  tutors 
of  the  University  of  Cambridge  and  of  the  several  colleges,  of  all 
preceptors  and  teachers  of  academies,  and  of  all  other  instructors 
of  youth,  to  exert  their  best  endeavors  to  impress  on  the  minds  of 
children  and  youth  committed  to  their  care  and  instruction,  the 
principles  of  piety  and  justice,  and  a  sacred  regard  to  truth : 
love  of  their  country,  humanity,  and  universal  benevolence ; 
sobriety,  industry  and  frugality :  chastity,  moderation  and  tem- 
perance ;  and  those  other  virtues  which  are  the  ornament  of 
human  society  and  the  basis  upon  which  a  republican  constitu- 
tion is  founded;  and  it  shall  be  the  duty  of  such  instructors  to 
endeavor  to  lead  their  pupils,  as  their  ages  and  capacities  will 
admit,  into  a  clear  understanding  of  the  tendency  of  the  above- 
mentioned  virtues  to  preserve  and  perfect  a  republican  consti- 
tution, and  secure  the  blessings  of  liberty  as  well  as  to  promote 
their  future  happiness,  and  also  to  point  out  to  them  the  evil 
tendencies  of  the  opposite  vices. ' ' 

As  we  have  already  noticed,  the  common  schools  of  our  county, 
as  well  as  of  other  parts  of  the  state,  in  the  second  century  of  our 
history,  were  unworthy  of  a  people  really  prizing  education  and 
inadequate  to  the  needs  of  children,  both  in  the  quantity  and  the 
quality  of  the  instruction  provided.  Secondary  schools,— tl}e 
grammar  schools  yet  remaining,— with  a  few  worthy  exceptions, 
were  diminishing  in  number  and  declining  in  excellence.  1  ho 
statutes  requiring  their  maintenance  were  gradual!}'  so  relaxed 

(      236      ) 


EDV  CATION 

that  early  in  the  nineteenth  century  only  seven  towns  wre  re- 
quired to  maintain  them.  As  in  the  darkness  ol:  the  Mirldio 
Ages  in  Europe,  learning  was  still  cherished  by  the  clergy,  so  dur- 
ing the  eighteenth  century  and  later,  the  ministers  of  the  churches 
in  New  England  encouraged  the  youth  in  tlieir  parishes  to  strug- 
gle on  toward  college,  and  often  became  their  private  instructors 
in  preparatory  Latin  and  Greek.  The  work  of  a  minister  in  our 
smaller  towns  was  no  sinecure.  If  he  would  supplement  his 
narrow  stipend  so  as  to  provide  for  his  family,  he  must  till  the 
X>arish  land ;  if  he  would  care  for  the  people  over  whom  he  had 
been  settled  as  a  pastor  for  life,  he  must  not  only  prepare  his  two 
Aveekly  sermons,  but  must  visit  from  house  to  house  and  acquaint 
himself  with  the  religious  condition  and  progress  of  his  people 
individually ;  and  if  he  Avould  be  instrumental  in  raising  up 
young  men  who  would  fill  the  pulpits  and  become  intellectual  and 
spiritual  leaders,  he  must  encourage  and  aid  promising  youth  in 
their  endeavors  to  equip  themselves  with  the  learning  of  the 
college.  Country  ministers  were  farmers,  preachers,  pastors  and 
teachers.  For  maintaining  the  standards  of  religion  according 
to  their  convictions,  of  truth  as  they  apprehended  it,  and  of 
sound  learning  as  they  knew  and  loved  it,  we  owe  the  early  min- 
isters of  New  England  a  debt  of  lasting  gratitude. 

Referring  again  to  the  low  state  of  the  common  schools  we  may 
quote  the  words  of  Rev.  Dr.  Cooley,  so  long  a  forceful  illustration 
of  the  value  to  a  town  of  such  a  minister  as  we  have  attempted  to 
describe.  He  says,  speaking  of  the  condition  of  the  schools  in 
1777,  when  he  began  his  school  life,  ' '  The  only  school  books  were 
Dillworth's  spelling  book,  the  primer  and  the  Bible.  The  fur- 
niture, as  I  recollect,  was  a  chair  for  the  master,  a  long  hickory 
and  a  ferule.  Reading,  spelling,  a  few  of  the  business  rules  of 
arithmetic,  the  catechism  and  writing  legibly,  was  the  amount  of 
school  education  for  sons ;  and  for  daughters,  still  less.  The  lux- 
ury of  a  slate  and  pencil  I  never  enjoyed  till  I  entered  college. 
Previous  to  1796,"  he  adds,  ''no  academy  existed  in  Western 
Massachusetts,  except  a  Avell  endowed  institution  at  Williams- 
town."  Alluding  to  his  own  teaching  while  a  parish  minister, 
he  said :     "Probably  as  many  as  eight  hundred  have  been  under 

(      237      ) 


01 R  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

my  luition.  and  as  many  as  sixty  or  seventy  have  entered  the 
ministry."  Very  few  New  h^ngland  ministers  had  as  lori"'  a  pas- 
torate and  labors  as  manifold  as  those  of  Dr.  Cooley  of  Granville  : 
but  in  his  life  we  have  a  type  of  the  New  England  ministry. 

We  now  notice  an  educational  movement  at  first  evidently 
adverse  to  the  improvement  of  the  common  school,  but  ultimately 
an  effective  agency  in  revolutionizing  it.  Unable  to  secure  for 
children  suitable  and  sufficient  instruction  in  the  common  school, 
parents  and  friends  of  education  by  private  benefactions  began 
to  found  other  schools. 

As  early  as  1761,  William  Dummer  left  by  will  his  house  and 
farm  in  Newbury,  INIass.,  for  the  establishment  of  a  free  school. 
In  1782  the  school  was  incorporated  under  the  name  of  Dummer 
academy.  This  was  the  first  school  in  the  state  that  bore  the 
name  of  academy.  As  soon  as  the  revolutionary  struggle,  with 
its  long  years  of  devastation,  discord  and  discouragement,  was 
over,  the  people  of  Massachusetts,  like  the  people  of  Prussia, 
after  the  downfall  of  Napoleon,  began  to  legislate  for  the  future. 
They  were  not  ignorant  of  the  wretched  condition  of  most  of  the 
common  schools,  and  by  enactments  provided  for  a  broader  range 
of  studies  and  a  somewhat  better  administration.  But  there  was 
then  too  much  poverty  and  too  much  rural  conservatism  to  allow 
of  any  general  improvement  in  the  schools.  The  district  system, 
with  its  petty  politics,  purblind  narrowness,  and  penurious  ap- 
propriations, was  destined  to  work  its  evils  for  another  genera- 
tion. Those  who  prized  education  could  not  then  uplift  the 
public  schools.  With  no  little  personal  sacrifice,  they  founded 
academies.  In  1797,  the  policy  of  aiding  towns  and  individuals 
in  establishing  academies  was  inaugurated.  A  common  form  of 
aid  was  a  grant  of  state  land  in  the  District  of  INIaine.  The  co- 
operation of  the  state  accelerated  the  founding  of  academies. 
Several  were  founded  not  fai'  from  the  time  of  the  founding  of 
Westfield  academy,  which  was  dedicated  in  1800.  Before  1840, 
one  hundred  and  twelve  acts  of  incorporation  had  been  enacted 
by  the  legislature,  providing  for  academies  in  eighty-eight  towns. 
Six  academies  have  been  located  in  Hampden  county.  Of  these, 
Westfield  academy  was  the  oldest,  and  for  half  a  century  the 

(      238      ) 


EDUCATION 

most  noted.     We  shall  speak  more  specifically  of  these  academies 
hereafter. 

These  academies  secured  permanent  teachers  of  fine  scholar- 
ship and  generous  culture.  They  were,  with  very  few  exceptions, 
men  and  women  of  earnest  Christian  purpose  who  encouraged, 
and  themselves  engaged  in  distinctive  religious  efforts  that  might 
have  been  thought  out  of  place  in  a  public  school.  If  these 
teachers  did  not  introduce  new  and  better  methods  of  teaching, 
they  taught  with  a  thoroughness  not  to  be  expected  in  the  district 
schools.  AVhile  special  attention  was  given  to  completing  the 
studies  of  the  common  school,  a  goodly  number  of  elective  studies, 
now  included  in  high  school  courses,  was  taught.  These  acad- 
emies furnished  the  connecting  steps  between  the  common  school 
and  the  college ;  they  re-enforced  the  colleges  with  young  men 
better  fitted  for  college  work,  and  thus  gave  new  life  to  the  col- 
leges. The  academies  co-operated  with  the  colleges  in  bringing 
forward  men  whose  influence  was  of  untold  value  in  promoting 
public  instruction :  they  nourished  a  sentiment  in  favor  of  better 
common  schools ;  and  they  led  the  people  to  form  higher  ideals 
of  teachers,  and  of  teaching.  While  it  must  be  admitted  that 
academies,  for  a  time,  so  centered  attention  upon  themselves  that 
the  common  schools  seemed  more  neglected  than  ever,  we  are 
indebted  to  these  institutions  for  educating  men  and  women 
whose  influence  and  whose  efforts  at  length  secured  a  great 
advance  in  the  administration  of  public  schools,  and  in  the 
methods  of  instruction.  The  first  master  of  Dummer  academy 
helped  to  educate  fifteen  members  of  congress,  two  chief  justices 
of  the  Supreme  court,  a  president  of  Harvard  college,  and  sev- 
eral college  professors.  Monson  and  Westfield  and  Wesleyan 
academies,  and  others  within  the  limits  of  Hampden  county,  had 
a  like  honorable  record.  Academies  were  the  training  schools  for 
teachers  of  the  common  schools  before  the  establishment  of  nor- 
mal schools.  Many  of  these  teachers  must  have  tried  to  intro- 
duce into  their  schools  the  finer  motives  and  the  gentler  methods 
which  they  had  known  in  the  academies,  in  place  of  the  rude 
rigors  then  in  vogue  in  district  schools.  Many  of  them  lived  to 
see  a  ne^v  era  in  the  history  of  the  common  schools. 

(      239      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  A.\D  ITS  PEOPLE 

AVe  have  seen  that  the  innnediate  effect  of  the  rise  of  aead- 
eiiiies  -was  to  center  the  attention  of  those  who  most  appreciated 
good  schools  upon  the  academies,  and  to  withdraw  from  the  com- 
mon schools  that  interest  and  that  generous  support  which  were 
essential  to  their  welfare.  Academies  tended  in  times  more  dem- 
ocratic even  than  our  ovm,  to  separate  the  children  of  those  hav- 
ing a  competency  from  the  children  of  the  poor.  The  former 
could  enjoy  the  advantages  of  an  academy ;  the  latter  were  too 
generally  obliged  to  content  themselves  with  the  meagre  oppor- 
tunities of  the  common  school.  The  passing  away  of  the  colonial 
grammar  schools,  and  the  decadence,  or  rather  lack  of  progress, 
of  the  common  schools,  had  made  private  schools  and  academies 
a  necessity.  Their  success  tended  to  leave  the  common  schools 
uncared  for.  But  there  was  a  growing  persuasion  that  the  com- 
mon schools  Avere  failing  to  secure  the  ends  for  which  they  were 
established,  and  were  unworthy  of  an  intelligent  people. 

The  eighth  annual  report  of  the  board  of  education,  -vATitten 
by  William  G.  Bates,  of  Westfield,  one  of  the  earlier  mem- 
bers of  the  board,  contains  a  paragraph  that  well  summarizes  the 
disadvantages  to  the  common  schools,  arising  from  the  mainte- 
nance of  private  schools.     We  quote  the  paragraph : 

' '  But  whatever  may  have  been  the  cause  of  the  establishment 
of  private  schools,  the  effect  of  their  establishment  has  been  most 
disastrous  upon  the  interests  of  common  school  education.  By 
increasing  the  expense  of  education,  without  proportionately 
improving  its  quality ;  by  drawing  off  to  the  private  schools  the 
best  of  the  teachers;  by  depriving  the  common  schools  of  their 
best  scholars,  and  thus  robbing  them  of  a  bright  example,  the 
best  incentive  to  diligence ;  by  withdrawing  from  them  the  care 
and  sympathy  of  the  most  intelligent  part  of  the  population;  by 
taking  away  from  the  patrons  of  these  private  institutions  the 
motive  to  swell  the  amount  of  the  appropriations  for  the  support 
of  common  schools ;  by  degrading  the  common  school  from  its  just 
estimation  in  the  minds  of  the  community,  to  an  institution 
where  only  those  are  sent  whose  parents  are  too  poor  or  too 
neglectful  to  pay  a  proper  regard  to  their  condition ;  by  fostering 
that  feeling  of  jealousy  which  Avill  always  spring  up  between 

(      2^0      ) 


EDUCATION 

persons  of  antagonistic  interests ;  by  instilling  into  the  mind  of 
the  youthful  student  a  feeling  of  inferiority ;  by  pointing  him  to 
a  fellow  student  born  under  the  laws  of  his  country  to  the  same 
destiny,  yet  in  the  enjoyment  of  superior  intellectual  advantages ; 
and  by  dissolving  that  community  of  feeling  which  should  ever 
be  consecrated  to  this  great  cause,  they  have  done  an  injury  to 
our  common  school  system,  which  their  discontinuance  only  can 
repair. 

The  tirst  quarter  of  the  nineteenth  century  had  hardly  closed 
ere  the  thick  gloom  that  had  long  settled  upon  elementary  schools, 
both  in  Europe  and  America,  began  to  yield  to  the  dawn  of  a 
brighter  day.  Pestalozzi,  in  Germany  and  in  Switzerland,  with 
his  co-laborers  and  pupils,  and  Bell  and  Lancaster,  in  England, 
had  begun  a  great  movement  in  the  educational  world.  To  this 
the  friends  of  popular  education  in  Massachusetts  were  the  tirst 
in  America  to  respond.  "To  James  Carter,  of  Lancaster,  Mass.," 
it  has  been  said,  "belongs  the  honor  of  first  attracting  attention 
to  the  decadence  of  the  public  schools,  the  extent  of  it,  the  cause 
of  it,  and  the  remedy  for  it."  The  result  of  his  writings,  his 
addresses,  his  work  in  the  legislature,  seconded  by  Gov.  Edward 
Everett,  Josiah  Quincy,  and  others,  was  the  creation  of  a  school 
fund  in  1834,  and  of  a  board  of  education  in  1837.  At  the  first 
meeting  of  this  board  in  June,  Horace  Mann  was  chosen  secre- 
tary. On  the  evening  of  the  day  of  his  appointment  he  made 
this  entry  in  his  private  journal,  "Henceforth,  so  long  as  I  hold 
this  office,  I  dedicate  myself  to  the  supremest  welfare  of  man 
upon  earth."  His  work  of  the  next  twelve  years  proved  the 
genuineness  of  this  self-dedication.  Supervisor  ]\Iartin  has  well 
said  of  him  in  his  valuable  book,  "Evolution  of  the  Massachusetts 
Public  School  System":  "He  fought  the  battle  of  educational 
reform  in  ]\Iassachusetts  through  to  the  end,  and  conquered.  A 
pathetic  indifference,  hide-bound  conservatism,  niggardly  parsi- 
mony, sectarian  bigotry,  and  political  animosity  surged  around 
him  as  the  enemies  of  France  surged  around  the  white  plume  of 
Henry  of  Navarre ;  but  he  left  the  field  so  clear,  that  since  his 
day  none  of  these  reactionary  forces,  singly  or  combined,  has 
made  any  successful  opposition  to  the  on-going  movements  of  the 
cause  of  popular  education." 

16-1  (      241      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

Ten  years  before  the  appointment  of  the  board  of  education, 
Mr.  Carter,  in  the  Massachusetts  legislature,  came  within  one 
vote  of  securing  an  appropriation  for  a  school  for  the  training 
of  teachers.  The  plan  was  not  realized  until  Edmund  Dwight. 
belonging  to  a  worthily  honored  family  of  Springfield,  but  then 
a  resident  of  Boston,  employed  his  money  and  his  influence  to 
establish  normal  schools.  We  are  also  indebted  to  j\lr.  Dwight, 
with  others,  for  the  development  of  the  cotton  mills  of  Chicopee 
and  Holyoke.  AVell  informed  respecting  educational  affairs  in 
his  own  state  and  in  Europe,  Mr.  Dwight  was  wisely  chosen  one 
of  the  original  members  of  the  board  of  education.  He  was 
keenh'  aware  of  the  need  of  trained  teachers  for  the  public 
schools,  and  offered  to  give  $10,000  for  the  training  of  teachers 
in  normal  schools,  provided  the  legislature  would  appropriate 
an  equal  sum.  By  the  resolves  of  April  19,  1838,  the  legislature 
appropriated  the  additional  $10,000. 

The  first  normal  schools  in  America  were  opened  in  1839, — 
one  in  Lexington  and  one  in  Barre.  The  latter,  in  1844,  found  a 
permanent  home  in  AYestfield.  It  is  a  lasting  honor  to  our  coun- 
ty that  within  its  limits  was  the  early  home  of  the  man  Avhose 
influence  and  whose  munificence  resulted  in  founding  the  first 
state  normal  schools  on  this  continent.  Later,  Mr.  Dwight,  by 
the  gift  of  $1,000,  made  it  possible  for  Mr.  Mann,  under  the 
direction  of  the  board  of  education,  to  inaugurate  a  system  of 
teachers'  institutes. 

The  value  of  the  Westfield  and  other  State  Normal  schools— 
the  value  of  the  institutes,  which  have  been  termed  the  "flying 
artillery  of  the  normal  school," — in  improving  the  schools  of  the 
county  and  of  the  state  can  hardly  be  over-estimated.  The 
Westfield  school  in  a  few  years  won  a  national  reputation.  Nor- 
mal schools  have  developed  new  and  better  methods  of  teaching, 
nourished  professional  enthusiasm,  led  to  a  higher  appreciation 
of  teaching,  helped  teachers  to  form  higher  ideals  and  through 
their  influence  on  the  schools  have  proved  that  they  are  essential 
to  any  well  ordered  system  of  public  instruction. 

So  far  as  the  public  schools  improved,  so  far  there  was  less 
need  of  academies.    The  development  of  manufacturing  industries, 

(      242      ) 


EDUCATION 

bringing  people  together  in  villages  and  cities,  led  to  the  erection 
of  larger  and  more  snitable  school  buildings,  the  grading  of 
pupils,  and  the  permanent  employment  of  excellent  teachers. 

As  townsincreased  in  i)opulation.  they  became  able  to  maintain 
high  schools,  and  they  were  especially  disposed  to  do  this  in  local- 
ities where  academies  failed  to  furnish  the  needed  opportunities 
for  secondary  instruction.  As  early  as  1821,  the  city  of  Boston 
established  a  free  English  High  school.  In  1826,  the  legisla- 
ture, which  in  previous  sessions  had  seemed  to  care  little  for 
secondary  schools,  enacted  a  law  requiring  that  high  schools 
should  be  maintained  in  towns  having  five  hundred  families ;  but 
the  opposition  to  this  measure,  of  those  interested  in  the  pros- 
perity of  academies,  and  of  several  towns  in  which  a  high  school 
could  not  be  located  so  as  to  easily  accommodate  pupils  from  all 
parts  of  the  town,  soon  secured  the  repeal  of  the  effective  clauses 
of  the  law.  After  experiencing  various  vicissitudes,  being  re- 
enacted  in  1836,  practically  set  aside  in  1840.  and  again  re-enact- 
ed and  improved  in  1848,  the  high  schools  law,  mainly  as  it  uoav 
is,  became  the  permanent  expression  of  the  will  of  the  people  of 
the  commonwealth. 

In  1838  there  were  very  few  high  schools  in  the  State.  From 
this  time  to  1860,  fifty  more  were  added.  From  1860  to  1875, 
ninety  more  were  established.  In  1900,  the  whole  number  of 
high  schools  in  the  state  was  two  hundred  and  sixty-one.  In 
twenty-three  towns,  academies,  most  of  them  on  an  early  founda- 
tion, serve  as  high  schools.  High  schools  include  nearly'  nine 
per  cent,  of  the  school  enrollment.  Where  academies 
have  yielded  their  place  to  free  high  schools,  the  academy 
funds  have  generally  been  utilized  to  increase  the  efficiency  of 
the  high  school.  The  high  schools  in  Hampden  county  are  a  just 
source  of  pride  to  the  several  towns  in  which  they  are  maintained. 

Monson  academy,  in  charge  of  a  succession  of  principals 
eminent  for  scholarship  and  rare  personal  qualities,  and  strength- 
ened from  time  to  time  by  the  benefactions  of  liberal  donors 
living  in  Monson,  has  maintained  its  hold  upon  the  community. 
It  still  continues  the  noble  work  for  which  it  was  founded  June 
21,  1804.  It  now  adds  to  its  original  functions  those  of  a  high 
school  for  the  town  of  jNIonson. 

(      343      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

The  "Wesleyan  academy  at  Wilbraham,  strengthened  by  the 
generous  efforts  of  the  members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal 
church,  also  survived  the  revolution  in  favor  of  public  high 
schools;  broadening  its  work,  adding  to  its  equipment  and  in- 
creasing its  influence,  until  it  has  become  one  of  the  leading  acad- 
emies of  the  state. 

The  Hitchcock  Free  academy,  founded  at  Brimfield  by  the 
act  of  incorporation  April  26,  1855,  in  the  excellence  of  its  work 
has  taken  rank  with  the  jNIonson  and  Wesleyan  academies,  fur- 
nishing admirable  high  school  facilities  to  communities  beyond 
the  limits  of  Brimfield  as  well  as  to  the  people  of  that  town. 

The  district  system,  Horace  jNIaun  and  his  immediate  succes- 
sors found  one  of  the  greatest  hindrances  to  the  improvement  of 
public  schools.  By  this  system  the  inhabitants  of  towns  were  for 
many  years  divided  into  petty  corporations,  each  having  well 
nigh  independent  management  of  its  own  school.  The  large 
centers  of  population  were  the  first  to  free  themselves  from  the 
evils  of  the  system ;  but  in  the  rural  sections  of  the  state,  in- 
trenched in  what  Avas  deemed  the  right  of  local  government,  and 
defended  by  custom,  it  long  seemed  almost  invincible.  In  spite 
of  several  legislative  attempts  to  rid  the  state  of  the  system,  it 
was  not  fully  abolished  until  1882,  though  persuasion  and  legis- 
lation had  previously  led  all  but  forty-five  tow^ns  to  adopt  the 
town  system,  by  which  all  the  schools  of  a  town  are  in  charge  of 
a  town  committee.  This  system  frees  from  the  petty  feuds,  the 
damaging  jealousies,  the  narrow  parsimony  and  the  selection  of 
teachers  on  the  grounds  of  relationships  and  favoritisms,  that 
often  made  the  district  system  a  disgrace.  Political  considera- 
tions may  gain  possession  of  the  members  of  a  town  committee. 
The  committees  in  our  county  have  generally  been  wholly  free 
from  such  debasement.  The  good  results  of  the  town  system 
are  evident  on  every  hand.  Among  the  most  obvious  are  the 
more  healthful,  tasteful  and  suitable  school  buildings  that  have 
been  erected  in  recent  years.  This  improvement  is  most  marked 
in  agricultural  communities  where,  under  the  district  system, 
neighborhood  strifes  and  local  jealousies  too  often  made  it  easy 
for  penurious  men  to  prevent  the  erection  of  needed  buildings. 

(      244      ) 


EDUCATION 

When  the  district  system  was  abolished,  the  very  persons  often, 
who  had  striven  to  prevent  the  substitution  of  a  good  building  for 
a  dilapidated  one,  were  eager  to  have  a  new  building  erected  at 
the  expense  of  the  town.  As  soon  as  in  any  section  of  the  town 
an  old  school  building  was  displaced  by  a  modern  one,  other  sec- 
tions claimed  a  like  improvement  as  their  right. 

The  high  school  buildings  recently  erected  in  the  county  are 
fitting  expressions  of  the  value  the  people  of  the  county  now 
attach  to  the  work  of  the  highest  grades  in  our  public  schools. 
They  show  a  woi'thy  public  spirit,  and  tend  to  impress  us  with  the 
dignity  and  importance  of  the  ends  for  which  they  were  erected. 
The  chaste  elegance  and  substantial  character  of  the  Springfield 
High  school  places  it  in  the  first  rank  of  public  buildings  in  the 
state.  But  more  important  than  solid  and  tasteful  architecture 
are  the  arrangements  for  the  seating  of  pupils,  for  ample  light, 
for  heating,  for  ventilation  and  for  securing  other  conditions  of 
physical  well  being.  The  high  schools  are  not  yet  perfect  in 
these  matters ;  but  we  have  so  far  progressed  in  their  construction 
and  equipment  that  the  intellectual  and  moral  results  sought  in 
a  course  of  secondary  instruction,  are  far  more  easily  attainable 
than  in  the  school  buildings  of  a  former  generation. 

If  we  compare  the  studies  and  the  methods  of  the  earlier 
schools  with  those  of  to-day,  we  find  that,  as  the  simple  and  uni- 
form mode  of  life  of  the  early  settlers  has  given  place  to  the 
more  complex  conditions  of  our  present  social  life,  the  curricu- 
lum of  the  schools  has  of  necessity  become  more  varied  and  com- 
prehensive. 

We  have  already  noticed  the  text-books  of  the  colonial  dame 
schools— the  horn-book  and  the  New  England  primer— and  that 
reading,  writing,  and  ciphering,  Avith  a  little  geography,  made  up 
the  work  of  the  common  school.  The  time  of  keeping  school  in 
the  country  schools  was  much  less  than  now.  It  was  not  uncom- 
mon in  sparsely  populated  sections,  to  omit  the  school  during  the 
winter,  and  farm  work  tended  to  shorten  the  summer  term. 
Some  branches  that  now  receive  large  attention  had  no  place  in 
the  schools  for  two  centuries.  Drawing  was  not  legally  allowed 
in  the  public  schools  by  act  of  the  legislature  until  1858,  and  not 

(      245      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

until  1870  was  it  made  a  regular  study.  Manual  training,  in  the 
earlier  schools,  Avas  unthousht  of  save  what  was  provided  for  by 
copy  books  and  in  pen-making  from  quills :  but  girls  in  their 
homes  were  proud  to  become  proficient  in  spinning,  weaving  and 
needlework,  and  in  solving  by  experience  the  problems  of  the  culi- 
nary art.  Boys  learned  to  board  and  shingle  buildings,  score 
and  hew  timber,  fell  trees,  make  fences,  mend  harnesses,  and 
fashion  many  farm  implements.  They  also  had  training  in  the 
cultivation  of  crops  and  in  the  care  of  domestic  animals. 

Nature  study,  as  a  department  of  school  work,  no  pupil  pur- 
sued, yet  the  objects  of  nature  in  the  open  country  impressed  the 
minds  of  the  children  as  they  do  not  to-day  in  our  more  populous 
districts  abounding  with  Avorks  of  men.  In  open  spaces,  un- 
walled  by  buildings,  children  beheld  the  changing  forms,  the 
colors,  the  lights  and  shades  that  give  such  charms  to  the  scenery 
of  earth  and  sky.  They  beheld  the  whole  western  horizon  kind- 
ling with  purple  and  gold  at  time  of  setting  sun.  The  wonder 
of  the  night,  stars  studding  the  sky,  the  changing  moon,  and  the 
"wandering  fires"— all  impressed  them  as  the  phenomena  of  the 
heavens  cannot  now  impress  children  reared  in  the  artificial  ap- 
pliances of  cities  and  thickly  populated  districts.  Though  the 
systematic  study  of  plants  found  no  place  in  those  earlier  schools, 
yet  the  children  knew  the  homes  of  the  wild  flowers  and  most  of 
their  common  names.  One  of  their  pastimes  in  their  woodland 
walks  was  to  test  each  other's  knowledge  of  the  kinds  of  trees  and 
shrubs  they  passed.  They  learned  the  habits  and  haunts  of  birds 
and  of  other  denizens  of  the  forest.  So  much  as  they  learned  of 
nature,  they  learned  in  the  fields  where  objects  were  seen  in 
their  entirety  and  in  their  natural  environment.  What  they 
learned  of  nature  they  learned  by  their  own  observation,  and  not 
by  reading  about  what  some  one  else  had  observed.  What  is 
learned  by  one's  own  observation  and  experience  is  not  easily 
forgotten. 

The  transfer  of  home  industries  to  factories,  the  making  of 
things  by  machinery  instead  of  by  hand,  has  left  the  home  Avith- 
out  those  opportunities  for  manual  training  and  those  ineentiA'es 
to  it  that    the    country   homes    of    our  county  once  furnished. 

(      246      ) 


EDUCATION 

Manual  training  and  gymnastic  exercises  are  now  needful  to  a 
large  proportion  of  pupils  in  our  public  schools.  These  are  need- 
ed in  our  cities  and  towns  for  training  of  eye  and  hand,  for  a 
better  appreciation  of  the  material  agencies  ministering  to  mod- 
ern life,  and  for  the  opportunity  to  more  wisely  answer  the  ques- 
tion, ' '  To  what  work  in  life  am  I  best  adapted  ? ' ' 

In  cities  where  the  physical  environment  of  the  child  is  in 
large  degree  artificial,  the  objects  of  nature  cannot  stimulate  his 
curiosity  and  waken  his  interest  as  in  a  country  home.  That  he 
may  gain  clear  and  distinct  perceptions  of  natural  objects,  so 
fundamental  to  all  subsequent  knowledge  gained  by  books  pre- 
senting that  which  is  beyond  the  range  of  observation,  the  natural 
objects,  as  far  as  may  be,  must  be  brought  to  him,  or  he  must  be 
brought  to  the  objects  and  led  to  study  them  in  their  native  con- 
ditions and  surroundings. 

The  applications  of  chemistry,  of  physics,  and  of  other  de- 
partments of  natural  science  in  different  employments,  now 
including  practical  farming,  even,  have  furnished  good  reasons 
for  introducing  the  study  of  elementary  science  into  the  public 
schools.  The  study  of  the  objects  that  belong  to  the  pupil's 
physical  environment,  as  a  means  of  developing  his  power  of 
observation  and  of  cultivating  his  aesthetic  nature,  has  been 
found  to  have  high  educational  value.  Drawing,  so  long  exclud- 
ed from  the  public  schools,  is  now  obligatory  in  all.  It  is  now 
rendering  an  admirable  service,  though  the  patrons  of  the  schools 
do  not  yet  fully  appreciate  its  large  practical  and  educational 
value. 

Thus  new  studies  from  time  to  time  have  been  added,  while 
the  names  of  the  old  have  taken  on  a  new  significance.  Arith- 
metic no  longer  includes  curious  and  time-exhausting  puzzles, 
but  trends  closeh^  to  the  requirements  of  the  counting  room  and 
the  demands  of  industrial  affairs.  Geography  is  no  longer  a 
catalogue  of  continents,  seas,  capes,  bays,  rivers,  mountains, 
states  and  capitals.  The  earth  is  now  studied  as  the  home  of 
man,  and  in  its  relations  to  the  varied  forms  of  human  activities. 
Grammar  no  longer  employs  pupils  in  memorizing  useless  forms 
and  in  attempting  unnecessary  classifications ;  but  yields  the  field 

{      247      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

to  practical  lessons  in  language  by  which  accuracy,  facility,  and 
grace  in  oral  and  written  composition  are  gained.  Scientific 
study  of  language,  grammar  proper,  is  reserved  for  the  highest 
grade  of  the  grammar  school,  or  more  properly  deferred  until  the 
pupil  reaches  the  secondary  school. 

There  has  been  progress  in  the  inner  life  of  the  schools,  in 
their  aims,  and  in  their  methods,  no  less  than  in  the  studies  pur- 
sued. The  purpose  of  the  colonial  schools  was  to  impart  knowl- 
edge of  reading,  writing  and  the  simple  elements  of  arithmetic. 
The  embryo  high  schools  gave  opportunity  for  the  scanty  prep- 
aration required  to  enter  Harvard  college.  Grammar, 
geography  and  history  came  into  the  common  school  later.  To 
these,  in  the  academies,  were  added  the  elements  of  some  of  the 
natural  sciences,  learned  mostly  by  memorizing  text-books  with 
occasional  visible  illustrations  and  experiments  prepared  and 
presented  by  the  teacher.  The  object  here  as  in  the  common 
schools  was  knowledge— in  large  degree  verbal  knowledge.  The 
laboratory  method  now  adopted  in  our  schools  is  far  in  advance 
of  former  methods.  Instead  of  the  teacher  performing  experi- 
ments in  chemistry  and  physics  in  the  presence  of  the  pupils  and 
telling  them  what  they  see,  they  themselves  perform  the  experi- 
ments, observe,  infer,  and  tell  the  teacher  the  mode  of  procedure 
and  the  results.  So  in  studying  plants  and  minerals,  the  objects 
of  study  are  in  the  hands  of  the  pupils,  or  within  the  range  of 
their  observation  so  that  they  may  analyze  them,  discover  truth  for 
themselves  and  frame  statements  of  their  own  ideas.  Books  are 
no  longer  regarded  as  the  primary  source  of  ideas,  nor  the  pupils 
as  passive  recipients  of  verbal  statements,  made  by  the  teacher 
or  furnished  in  printed  pages. 

The  schools  in  earlier  times,  however,  were  not  without  good 
results.  Committing  to  memory  words  and  sentences  helped 
pupils  to  leai-n  spelling  and  the  construction  of  sentences.  The 
weekly  declamations  and  recitations  in  the  academies  and  the 
occasional  exercises  of  a  similar  sort  in  the  common  school,  were 
means  of  literary  culture.  Modern  schools  have  found  no  better 
means  than  memorizing  and  suitably  expressing  appropriate 
selections  of  real  excellence. 

(      248      ) 


EDUCATION 

The  reading'  books,  though  often  not  adapted  to  interest  the 
children  in  the  lower  grades,  I'endered  valnable  literary  service 
to  older  pupils.  The  reading  lessons  might  be  fragmentary^ ;  but 
they  were  often  the  finest  selections  from  the  most  approved 
authors.  They  were  read  over  and  over,  and  from  them  ^^•ere 
largely  taken  the  prose  or  the  poetry  to  be  recited  during  the 
hours  given  to  rhetorical  exercises.  The  prolonged  attention  that 
the  literature  of  the  reading  books  secured,  making  it  a  life-long 
possession,  together  with  the  constant  influence  of  daily  readings 
of  the  Bible,  both  in  the  home  and  in  the  school,  give  us  reasons 
for  the  vigorous  and  clear  style  of  the  letters  and  the  curi-ent 
literature  of  the  eighteenth  century.  The  supply  of  reading 
was  often  scanty,  but  what  there  was,  was  for  the  most  part 
good,  Omniverous  and  thoughtless  reading,  nourished  by  sen- 
sational sheets  and  by  books  of  fiction,  feeble  and  faulty  in  style, 
and  unnatural  and  startling  in  the  presentation  of  trivial  events, 
tilling  the  imagination  with  silly  pictures,  leaving  little  room  and 
less  inclination  for  sober  thought — such  reading  was  not  the 
reading  of  our  forefathers,  neither  in  childhood  nor  in  later 
years ;  it  pertains  to  the  intellectual  idlers,  the  weaklings  in  pur- 
pose, of  later  times. 

There  may  have  been  little  genuine  teaching,  yet  there  were 
excellences  in  the  schools  which  we  may  not  pass  unnoticed. 
There  was  no  pampering  of  the  intellect.  That  which  Avas  to  be 
studied  was  not  so  diluted  as  to  render  hard  study  unnecessary 
and  enfeeble  thought.  If  little  was  done  to  smooth  the  rugged 
pathw^ay  of  knowledge,  it  challenged  effort,  evoked  self-reliance, 
strength  and  courage.  If  the  school  weeks  were  comparatively 
few  and  the  list  of  studies  meagre,  the  pupils  generally  came  to 
school  with  an  earnest  purpose  to  accomplish  something  worthy, 
and  to  make  the  most  of  their  opportunities.  The  modern  strife 
of  society  and  the  school  for  the  time  and  strength  of  the  pupil 
during  the  hours  of  evening  did  not  then  exist.  The  evenings 
at  home  were  seldom  interrupted.  They  supplemented  the  ses- 
sions of  school.  And  when  the  school  terms  for  the  year  were 
ended,  the  quiet  homes  and  secluded  employments  of  the  country, 
gave  abundant  opportunity  to  think  over  again  what  had  been 
learned  and  to  revive  its  impressions. 

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01 R  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

One  of  the  defects  of  the  teaching,  from  which  we  are  not 
wholly  freed,  was  that  descriptions  of  things  were  studied,  rather 
than  things  themselves  :  and  yet  this  was  less  injurious  to  the  boys 
and  girls  of  the  colonial  schools,  because,  in  their  daily  life  they 
had  more  to  do  with  the  objects  of  nature  than  we.  Another 
defect  was  that  the  objects  of  study,  whether  presented  in  books 
or  otherwise,  their  arrangement,  and  the  language  employed, 
were  generally  adapted  to  the  mind  of  the  adult  rather  than  to 
the  mind  of  the  child.  The  deductive  order,  by  w^hich  the  mind 
proceeds  from  general  propositions  and  truths  to  specific  applica- 
tions and  illustrations,  was  employed  rather  than  the  inductive, 
by  which  the  child  begins  with  a  knowledge  of  individual  objects, 
and  by  his  own  inference,  comes  to  the  general  truth. 

The  interests  of  the  child  were  not  consulted.  It  was  not 
then  the  theory  of  most  teachers  that  children  should  be  attracted 
to  their  school-work.  On  the  contrary,  it  was  believed  they 
would  fail  to  gain  one  of  the  chief  objects  of  school  discipline, 
unless  they  were  daily  held  and  habituated  to  the  performance  of 
unwelcome  tasks.  The  discipline  that  comes  by  unreserved  devo- 
tion to  work  which  one  enjoys  Avas  not  appreciated.  The  spirit 
of  the  kindergarten  which  now  permeates  the  lower  grades  of  our 
schools  was  wanting. 

To-day,  the  progressive  teacher  studies  the  nature  of  the  child, 
traces  his  instincts,  his  interests  and  his  aversions,  the  ways  in 
which  he  thinks,  and  the  steps  by  which  he  approaches  knowl- 
edge. The  result  of  such  study  is  intelligent  teaching  in  accord 
with  the  unfolding  faculties  of  the  child.  Does  a  child  first  gain 
a  knowledge  of  objects  by  his  own  observation  and  experience? 
Then  the  teacher  of  to-day  begins  the  teaching  of  every  subject 
by  leading  the  child  to  observe  that  which  is  to  be  studied,  rather 
than  words  describing  it.  Such  teaching  is  in  strong  contrast 
with  the  book-learning  of  earlier  times.  Does  a  child  naturally 
attend  to  things  changing  and  moving  sooner  than  to  things  at 
rest  and  inactive  ?  Then  the  study  of  animals  and  plants  in  the 
kindergarten  and  primary  school  precedes  the  study  of  minerals. 
To-day  the  instincts  of  the  child  are  consulted  in  planning  his 
work  and  in  providing  for  his  recreations.     Is  he  fond  of  making 

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EDLCAllON 

things?  He  is  trained  in  drawing,  moulding,  and  woodwork, 
and  by  these  exercises  secures  not  only  manual  training  but 
mental  culture.  Mythic  legends  and  fairy  tales  are  furnished 
for  reading  at  the  age  when  the  imagination  revels  in  its  freedom 
not  yet  restrained  by  the  tests  of  truth.  The  self-activity  of  the 
child  is  so  directed  as  to  lead  to  a  natural  development. 

Unnatural  quiet  and  stillness,  produced  by  rigid  restraint, 
are  no  longer  regarded  the  acme  of  school  order ;  it  is  now  secured 
by  furnishing  ample  and  agreeable  employment  in  suitable 
school  Avork.  The  applications  of  the  rod  and  the  ferule  were 
once  the  approved  means  of  limiting,  if  not  of  eliminating,  the 
hereditary  perversity  of  the  will  termed  by  the  tlieologians  ''orig- 
inal sin."  While  it  is  still  admitted  that  force  and  physical 
penalty  are  ultimately  to  be  employed  if  school  order  cannot  be 
otherwise  maintained,  there  is  now  found  comparatively  little 
use  for  them  in  schools.  In  moral  training,  the  effort  now  is  not 
to  eradicate  tendencies  to  evil  by  severity,  but  to  dwarf  and 
Avither  them  by  the  overgrowth  of  noble  aspirations  and  worthy 
deeds.  The  modern  teacher,  instead  of  compelling  by  penalties 
and  coercing  by  fear,  allures  and  leads  along  the  paths  of  knowl- 
edge, selecting  the  way  so  wisely  and  so  in  accord  with  the  tastes 
and  the  pace  of  children  that  it  is  far  pleasanter  for  them  to  keep 
company  with  the  teacher  than  to  stray  in  forbidden  paths. 
Once,  knowledge  seemed  to  be  the  ultimate  aim  of  all  school  work. 
To-day,  powder  rather  than  knoAvledge  is  the  aim.  The  test  of  a 
pupil's  school  work  is  not  what  he  can  repeat,  but  what  he  can 
think  and  do. 

The  report  of  the  board  of  education  for  1899-1900  fur- 
nishes some  interesting  statistics  relative  to  the  present  condi- 
tion of  the  public  schools  of  the  county ;  30,457  persons  are  re- 
ported between  the  ages  of  5  and  15  years  of  age,  30,011  different 
persons  of  all  ages  in  the  public  schools  during  the  school  year, 
and  22,264  the  average  attendance ;  $5,354.01  was  expended  for 
the  conveyance  of  pupils.  The  amount  thus  expended  will 
doubtless  be  increased  as  the  people  become  more  fully  apprised 
that  money  is  saved,  better  educational  appliances  can  be  pro- 
vided, and  better  teachers  permanently  employed  by  closing  the 

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Oili  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

small  schools  and  transporting  the  pupils  to  larger  schools.  In 
aiding  this  better  grouping  of  pupils,  trolley  cars  are  becoming 
faetoi-s  in  educational  progress. 

The  amount  paid  for  teachers'  wages  during  the  year  1900 
was  $505,962.91.  The  total  expenditure  for  the  support  of 
public  schools  was  $708,450.81.  Of  this  sum,  $99,489.72  was 
expended  for  new  school  houses,  a  sum  considerably  less  than  the 
expenditure  for  this  purpose  during  some  preceding  years.  If 
to  the  amount  expended  as  reported,  we  could  add  the  annual 
interest  of  the  capital  invested  in  school  buildings  and  in  other 
school  appliances,  the  amount  expended  in  providing  public 
instruction  and  the  amount  annually  expended  in  other  ways  for 
education  in  the  county,  the  sum  might  be  found  to  approach 
nearer  two  millions  than  one. 

Ten  high  schools  are  reported,  including  the  Hitchcock  Free 
academy  and  the  Monson  academy.  The  whole  number  of  pupils 
in  high  schools  was  2,014.  The  attendance  at  high  schools  during 
the  last  five  years  shows  a  ratio  of  increase  much  beyond  the  ratio 
of  increase  of  population.  The  causes  for  the  recent  rapid  growth 
of  high  schools,  are,  "the  feeling  that  a  higher  education  is 
needed  to  cope  with  the  present  conditions  of  life,  both  social  and 
industrial;  the  increasing  disposition  to  recognize  the  high  school 
as  a  natural  part  and  continuation  of  public  education;  an 
improvement  in  circumstances  that  enables  parents  to  give  their 
children  better  advantages  for  a  start  in  life;  in  some  places,  a 
decrease  in  the  demand  for  boys'  labor  in  factories  and  mills,  and 
in  other  employments  of  a  distinctly  manual  character :  and 
lastly,  the  broadening  of  high  school  courses  of  studies,  so  that 
now,  whatever  their  destination  in  life,  young  people  find  some- 
thing in  the  high  school  that  seems  to  meet  their  wants  or  tastes." 
"We  may  expect  that  the  attendance  in  these  schools  of  higher 
grade  will  increase  still  more  rapidly  as  the  courses  in  the  high 
schools  become  more  elective,  and  more  closely  adapted  to  the 
demands  of  active  life. 

The  mode  of  providing  high  school  instruction  for  pupils  in 
the  smaller  towns,  who  are  qualified  for  admission  to  a  high 
school  and  desire  to  enter,  is  not  uniform.     Towns  whose  valua- 

(      252      ) 


EDUCATION 

tion  is  less  than  $500,000,  generally  avail  themselves  of  the  pro- 
visions of  the  recent  law  of  the  state,  exempting  such  towns  from 
the  payment  of  the  tuition  of  their  pupils  in  attendance  in  high 
schools  of  other  towns  and  making  it  a  charge  upon  the  state. 
In  small  towns,  whose  valuation  exceeds  $500,000,  local  pride  and 
sometimes  economical  considerations,  favor  the  maintenance  of  a 
school  of  higher  grade  that  shall  wholly,  or  in  part,  provide  high 
school  instruction.  There  are  many  reasons  why  a  town  should 
strenuously  endeavor  to  maintain  one  school  of  higher  grade, 
even  if  unable  to  provide  a  complete  high  school  course. 

During  the  century  that  has  just  closed,  the  instruction  of  the 
pupils  in  our  public  schools  has  been  in  large  degree  transferred 
from  men  to  women.  In  early  colonial  times  women  were  not 
employed  as  teachers,  save  in  schools  for  little  children,  in  which 
the  range  of  studies  did  not  go  beyond  the  Horn  book  and  the 
New  England  primer.  The  contents  of  the  primer  we  have  al- 
ready outlined.  The  Horn  book  is  described  as  ''a  single  leaf 
on  w^hich  was  printed  at  the  beginning  of  the  first  line  the  form 
of  a  cross,  to  show  that  the  end  of  training  is  piety.  After  the 
cross  there  followed  the  letters  of  the  alphabet,  the  small  letters 
and  the  capitals,  the  vowels,  syllables  of  two  letters,  and  the 
words,  'In  the  name  of  the  Father  and  of  the  Son  and  of  the  Holy 
Ghost.  Amen.'  Closing  with  the  Lord's  Prayer."  The  sheet 
was  originally  in  England  covered  with  a  transparent  sheet  of 
horn,  hence  its  name. 

The  famous  law  of  1647  did  not  recognize  women  as  teachers. 
Every  township  of  fifty  householders  w^as  ordered  to  appoint  one 
in  their  town  to  teach  all  such  children  as  should  resort  to  him. 
When  a  towai  had  set  up  a  grammar  school,  a  "master"  was  to 
be  employed  to  teach  it.  The  "Dame  schools,"  usually  kept  in 
rooms  of  dwelling  houses,  were  deemed  within  the  province  of 
women  Avho  were  to  be  "keepers  at  home." 

The  opinion  was  then  general  that  to  teach  girls  in  school 
anything  beyond  reading  and  writing  and  the  simplest  rudi- 
ments of  other  common  branches,  was  to  waste  time,  for  these 
were  all  they  would  have  occasion  to  use.  They  had  no  oppor- 
tunity in  the  public  schools  to  gain  the  knowledge  required  to 

(      253      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

teach  grades  above  the  primary.  The  grammar  schools  were  for 
boys  only.  Boston,  supposed  then  as  now  to  furnish  literary 
models  for  other  communities,  admitted  girls  to  the  grammar 
school  for  the  first  time  in  1789,  and  for  nearly  half  a  century 
thereafter  they  were  permitted  to  attend  only  one-half  of  the 
year — from  April  to  October.  The  public  sentiment  seemed 
quite  in  accord  with  the  saying  of  a  German  philosopher,  "The 
home  of  man  is  the  world,  the  world  of  woman  her  home."  A 
historian  tells  us  that  "the  rural  schools  admitted  the  boys  and 
girls  alike,  but  the  instruction  for  the  girls'  was  limited  to  lessons 
in  Avriting,  spelling  and  reading." 

The  dedication  of  the  building  of  the  Westfield  academy, 
then  the  only  academy  in  Western  Massachusetts,  marked  the 
beginning  of  a  new  era  in  the  history  of  the  education  of  the 
girls  in  Hampden  county.  The  limitations  of  their  instruction 
in  the  public  schools  did  not  obtain  in  academies.  Whatever 
was  there  taught,  girls  could  study  as  freely  as  boys.  As  there 
were  no  colleges  for  girls,  they  were  not  expected  to  elect  prepar- 
atory studies.  As  high  schools  were  established,  boys  and  girls 
were  admitted  on  equal  footing.  The  same  was  true  of  State 
Normal  sehools.  Now  colleges  are  provided  for  women.  The 
methods  of  governing  pupils  have  become  more  human,  requiring 
less  strength  of  muscle— an  advance  for  which  we  are  indebted 
mainly  to  the  increased  number  of  female  teachers  in  our  schools. 

Owing  to  these  conditions,  and  others  which  might  be  no- 
ticed, the  large  majority  of  the  teachers  in  our  public  schools 
to-day  are  women.  There  are  now  more  than  ten  times  as  many 
women  as  men  teaching  in  the  public  schools  of  the  state.  The 
number  of  different  male  teachers  employed  in  the  public  schools 
of  Hampden  county,  as  officially  reported  for  the  school  year  end- 
ing in  1900,  was  only  78,  Avhile  the  number  of  female  teachers 
was  901. 

In  1881  the  legislature  granted  to  women  the  right  to  vote 
for  school  committee,  thus  increasing  the  power  of  women  to 
control  the  management  of  the  public  schools. 

In  1874  the  legislature  passed  an  act  declaring  that  no  per- 
son should  be  deemed  ineligible  to  the  office  of  school  committee 

(      254      ) 


EDUCATION 

by  reason  of  sex.  From  that  date,  and  in  some  towns  earlier, 
women  have  served  on  the  school  committee  in  the  towns  of  our 
county,  most  acceptably.  Several  towns  have  found  their  need 
of  school  supervision  best  supplied  by  the  employment  of  women 
as  superintendents.  The  intelligent  women  of  Hampden  county 
have  done  more  than  men  to  upbuild  the  public  schools.  They, 
together  with  other  women  of  the  state,  have  been  effective  in 
securing  the  teaching  of  temperance  in  the  schools.  The  high 
moral  tone  of  the  public  schools  of  the  county  is  largely  the 
result  of  their  influence. 

Edncational  Institutions  Not  Included  in  the  Public  ScJiools. 
—Every  city  and  town  in  Hampden  county  has  a  free  public 
library;  every  one  of  these  libraries  aids  the  work  of  public 
schools.  It  is  an  essential  part  of  a  good  secondary  course  of 
instruction  to  teach  the  student  how  to  use  a  library  in  topical 
study.  Under  the  direction  of  the  librarian  and  the  teacher, 
pupils  in  the  grammar  grades,  even,  learn  how  to  make  the 
library  supplement  the  work  of  the  school.  Following  the  ex- 
ample of  the  public  library  of  Brookline,  Mass.,  where  in  1890 
a  juvenile  room  was  first  provided  and  furnished  with  suitable 
books,  most  of  the  libraries  in  the  county  make  special  provisions 
for  the  needs  and  the  tastes  of  children.  Librarians  and  teachers 
co-operate  in  making  the  library  serviceable  to  pupils  in  the 
schools  and  to  youth  who  are  continuing  their  studies  beyond  the 
schools.  Every  progressive  teacher  feels  that  to  teach  the  art  of 
reading  and  leave  the  pupil  unaided  in  his  selection  to  make  his 
way  among  periodicals  and  books  is  like  launching  one  upon  an 
unknown  sea  without  chart  or  rudder;  hence  the  teachers  more 
and  more  feel  the  necessity  of  introducing  those  under  their  care 
to  good  literature,  and  so  cultivating  their  taste  for  it,  that  their 
intellectual  and  moral  progress  after  leaving  school  will  be 
assured. 

Inl898,therewerel91,419volumes  in  the  free  public  libraries 
in  the  county.  Large  accessions  have  since  been  made.  Spring- 
field library  alone  is  reported  to  contain  upwards  of  101,000 
volumes.  The  aggregate  circulation  is  about  twice  the  number 
of  volumes. 

(      255      ) 


OLE  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

The  Hampden  Comity  Teachers'  associatiou  adopted  its 
present  constitution  May.  1856.  Its  annual  meetings  have  ever 
been  interesting  and  profitable.  The  attendance  in  recent  years 
has  been  so  large  and  the  work  so  specialized,  that  it  is  customary 
to  tlivide  the  members,  during  a  part  of  the  time  of  each  meeting, 
into  three  sections — primary,  grammar  and  high  school.  The 
association  includes  not  only  teachers  of  every  grade,  but  mem- 
bers of  school  committees  and  others  interested  in  public  schools. 
No  organizations  are  more  democratic  than  our  teachers'  associa- 
tions, and  none  has  been  more  earnest  in  kindling  the  aspirations 
and  improving  the  professional  skill  of  its  members.  The  meet- 
ings of  the  association  are  held  in  Springfield.  Before  this  city 
was  as  readily  reached  from  surrounding  towns  as  now,  the  meet- 
ings Avere  held  in  different  towns,  in  response  to  invitations.  Its 
coming  was  gladly  heralded.  Citizens  opened  their  houses  to 
those  in  attendance  and  provided  bountiful  entertainment;  the 
citizens  felt  amply  repaid  in  listening  to  the  discussions  and  lec- 
tures before  the  association. 

A  preliminary  meeting  of  principals  of  high  schools  and 
academies  was  held  in  Springfield,  January  18,  1896.  At  the 
next  meeting,  February  14,  articles  of  agreement  were  adopted 
and  a  club  was  organized  under  the  name,  "Headmasters'  Club 
of  AYestern  Massachusetts."  Its  object  is  to  promote  acquaint- 
ance and  to  aid  each  other  by  discussing  school  questions  and 
plans  of  school  work.  Five  or  six  meetings  are  held  annually, 
one  of  which,  termed  ''Ladies  Day,''  is  spent  in  visiting  some 
place  of  historical  or  literary  interest.  The  earnest  work 
of  this  club  is  fruitful  in  improving  the  several  schools  in  charge 
of  its  members. 

The  Hitchcock  Free  academy  was  established  by  the  citizens 
of  Brimfield  in  response  to  a  letter  received  from  Sanuiel  Austin 
Hitchcock,  dated  February  21.  1855.  In  this  letter.  Mr.  Hitch- 
cock disclosed  his  intention  of  giving  $10,000  for  the  purpose  of 
endoAving  a  "Free  (Jrammar  School."  In  the  name  suggested, 
he  seems  to  have  had  in  mind  the  "Grammar  School"  of  earlier 
times,  whieli  corresponded  to  our  present  high  school.  Mr. 
Hitchcock  donated  in  all  $75,000.     One  condition  of  his  first  gift 

(      '^56      ) 


EDUCATION 

was  that  the  school  should  be  free  to  all  children  of  suitable  age 
and  qualifications  who  are  inhabitants  of  the  town;  a  condition 
of  his  later  gift  is,  that,  "so  far  as  pupils  from  other  towns  can 
be  accommodated  at  the  school  and  not  deprive  the  children  of 
the  town  of  any  advantages  of  the  same,  they  shall  be  received 
upon  the  same  terms  as  resident  scholars." 

Monson  academy,  incorporated  in  1804,  is  the  oldest  acad- 
emy in  the  county  that,  as  an  active  and  independent  institution, 
has  survived  the  rise  of  public  high  schools. 

Westfield  academy,  founded  a  few  years  earlier,  was  for 
many  years  the  most  important  aeademy  in  the  county ;  but  a 
generation  ago,  the  development  of  free  high  schools  led  the 
trustees  to  sell  its  building  and  grounds  to  the  town  of  Westfield 
for  the  use  of  the  Westfield  High  school.  The  proceeds  of  the 
sale  was  invested  and  the  income  is  now  used  to  aid  in  providing 
instruction  in  the  school. 

Monson  academy,  like  other  academies  in  the  county,  has 
ever  been  open  to  young  ladies  as  well  as  to  young  men.  It  has 
fitted  a  large  number  for  college ;  but  a  much  larger  number  have 
here  completed  their  school  education  for  an  active  life.  Among 
the  alumni  of  the  academy  in  active  life  previous  to  1875,  we 
find  the  names  of  Henry  L.  Barnard,  LL.  D.,  the  first  U.  S.  com- 
missioner of  education ;  W.  A.  Larned,  professor  in  Yale  col- 
lege ;  D.  B.  Coe,  D.  D.,  secretary  of  the  American  Missionary 
society ;  Richard  S.  Storrs,  D.  D.,  of  Brooklyn,  the  prince  of 
preachers ;  G.  H.  Gould,  D.  D.,  and  S.  Curtis,  professors  of  theol- 
ogy in  Chicago  seminary.  To  this  period  belong  also  one  who 
became  a  judge  of  the  Supreme  court  of  the  United  States,  and 
another  who  held  a  like  position  in  the  courts  of  Massachusetts. 
Could  we  have  the  record  of  the  alumni  during  later  years  it 
would  doubtless  be  alike  honorable. 

The  principals  of  this  school  have  included  several  men  of 
excellent  scholarship.  Perhaps  the  most  eminent  man  in  its  his- 
tory was  Charles  Hammond,  who  directed  its  activities,  in  all, 
twenty-five  years.  To  the  people  of  the  town,  Monson  academy 
now  ofi'ers  the  opportunities  of  a  free  high  school. 

The  Wesleyan  academy  was  first  opened  at  Newmarket,  New 
Hampshire,  September  1,  1817.     Thus,  it  is  the  oldest  literary 

17-1  (      257      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

institution  under  the  especial  patronage  of  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal church  in  America.  It  was  opened  at  Wilbraham,  in 
November,  1825,  Avith  eight  students.  Its  rapid  growth  was  the 
result  of  the  prayerful  effort  and  zeal  of  Methodist  preachers, 
seconded  by  others  who  have  appreciated  its  religious  character 
and  its  sound  learning.  Though  in  its  founding  and  mainte- 
nance, it  has  been  known  as  a  Methodist  school,  it  has  ever  been 
unsectarian  in  its  teaching,  and  largely  patronized  by  those  of 
other  denominations.  It  numbers  among  its  present  and  former 
students,  over  seventeen  thousand  persons.  Some  nine  hundred 
of  these  have  gone  from  the  school  to  college.  A  much  larger 
number  have  gone  into  school  rooms  as  teachers.  Its  career  has 
furnished  evidence  of  the  success  of  co-education ;  more  than  a 
third  of  the  students  have  been  young  women. 

The  education  which  this  academy  has  ever  aimed  to  secure 
is  broad  and  comprehensive,  the  education  of  body,  mind  and 
heart.  The  moral  and  religious  well-being  of  the  students  has 
ever  been  a  matter  of  the  highest  regard. 

"The  situation"  of  the  school,  as  some  one  has  said,  "is  beau- 
tiful, dry  and  healthful.  No  epidemic  of  serious  disease  has 
been  known.  A  splendid  supply  of  water  is  secured  from  springs 
on  the  mountain  above,  and  the  farm  lands  sloping  away  toward 
the  Connecticut  river,  nine  miles  distant,  at  Springfield,  give  a 
natural  and  effective  drainage.  The  extensive  grounds— for, 
with  farm  and  forest,  they  comprise  more  than  two  hundred  acres 
— afford  an  ample  campus,  set  with  stately  trees,  an  easily  acces- 
sible athletic  field,  rugged  foot  hills  for  golf  and  rambling,  and  a 
wide  prospect  of  forest  and  rocky  ridge,  that  has  made  the  school- 
home  most  attractive  and  inspiring." 

The  Smith  Memorial  gymnasium,  recently  erected  at  a  cost 
of  forty-five  thousand  dollars,  containing  ample  equipments  and 
apparatus  on  the  first  floor  for  young  men,  and  on  the  second  for 
young  ladies,  enables  the  physical  director  to  train  all  the  stu- 
dents in  daily  exercises  adapted  to  secure  bodily  health  and 
graceful  movement.  The  work  of  the  gymnasium  is  well  supple- 
mented by  outdoor  exercises  and  games  on  the  broad  campus. 
Few  secondary  schools  furnish  such  opportunities  for  physical 
culture. 

(      268      ) 


EDUCATION 

The  courses  of  study  include  English,  Elocution,  History, 
Classics,  Modern  Languages,  Mathematics,  Science  and  Psychol- 
ogy, with  which  are  grouped  Ethics  and  Economics. 

The  studies  are  so  combined  in  programs  as  to  furnish  elective 
courses  for  those  Avho  are  fitting  for  college,  for  those  who  are 
fitting  for  technical  schools,  and  for  those  who  would  complete 
their  school  preparation  for  life,  at  the  academy.  All  students 
are  required  to  avail  themselves  of  the  opportunities  for  physical 
culture  and  for  the  study  of  the  Bible. 

Special  training  for  business  is  furnished  in  the  well-fitted 
rooms  of  the  commercial  department.  Special  instruction  is 
furnished  in  the  several  departments  of  music  and  fine  arts, 
and  special  diplomas  are  awarded. 

Rich  Hall,  a  comparatively  new  building,  presenting  a  front 
of  two  hundred  and  forty  feet,  afi:'ords  in  one  wing,  fine  rooms 
for  young  men.  and  in  another,  for  young  ladies,  who  wish  to 
make  their  home  at  the  school  during  the  months  of  study.  As 
the  living  rooms  of  the  faculty  are  in  this  building,  they  are  able 
to  provide  the  students  with  many  of  the  advantages  of  a  well 
ordered  family,  while  the  frequent  receptions  and  the  gatherings 
•of  the  students  in  voluntary  organizations,  do  much  to  add  zest  to 
their  social  life. 

The  buildings  named,  together  with  the  old  academy,  Fisk, 
Binney  and  music  halls,  the  principal's  residence,  the  beautiful 
Memorial  church  erected  by  friends  of  the  academy,  and  other 
l3uildings  on  and  near  the  campus,  give  evidence  of  the  generous 
interest  that  supports  the  institution  and  of  the  wide  influence  it 
•exerts. 

In  recent  years  more  than  fifty  thousand  dollars  of  endow- 
ment and  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  in  scholarships,  have  been 
received.  To  the  chapters  upon  the  towns  of  Brimfield,  Monson 
and  Wilbraham,  we  would  refer  for  fuller  accounts  of  the  above 
named  academies. 

The  Westfield  academy  when  founded  was  a  school  for  a 
wide  section  embracing  all  the  towns  of  Hampden  county  and 
towns  beyond,  in  fact  all  of  Western  Massachusetts;  but  as  the 
people  of  Westfield  originated  it,  and  its  history  is  almost  insep- 

(      259      ) 


01 R  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

arable  from  that  of  the  town,  we  shall  give  the  detailed  history  of 
this  famous  academy  in  connection  with  the  history  of  Westfield. 

The  Bible  Normal  college,  founded  by  Rev.  David  Allen 
Reed,  and  incorporated  Jan.  28,  1885,  was  at  first  named  "The 
School  for  Christian  Workers."  It  was  enlarged  in  1892,  and 
again  in  1897,  when  it  was  given  its  present  name.  This  college 
is  interdenominational  and  co-educational.  It  is  intended  to  hold 
the  same  place  in  the  training  of  religious  teachers  that  normal  and 
other  professional  schools  hold  in  the  training  of  secular  teachers. 
Three  courses  of  study  are  offered :  1.  A  course  of  three  years, 
largely  elective.  2.  A  course  of  two  years.  3.  A  course  of 
one  year.  The  studies  may  be  grouped  under  studies  relating 
to  the  Bible,  studies  relating  to  man,  and  studies  relating  to 
teaching.  The  buildings  of  the  college  are  located  near  the  head 
of  State  street  in  the  Highlands.  Arrangements  are  now  being 
made  for  transferring  this  college  to  Hartford  and  affiliating  it 
with  the  Theological  seminary. 

The  International  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Training  School.— In  response 
to  an  evident  need,  Rev.  David  Allen  Reed,  in  connection  with  the 
School  for  Christian  Workers,  founded  the  International  Y.  M. 
C.  A.  Training  school  in  1885.  In  1890,  yielding  to  the  demand 
of  associations,  it  was  incorporated  as  a  separate  institution  under 
its  present  name.  The  following  year,  its  present  site,  including 
thirty  acres,  on  the  borders  of  Massasoit  lake,  was  purchased. 
Soon  a  model  gymnasium  and  athletic  field  were  made  ready,  and, 
in  1895,  the  present  large  and  commodious  building  was  erected. 
At  first  young  men  were  trained  for  association  work  by  the 
apprentice  system ;  the  training  of  this  school  proves  far  more 
efficient.  The  course  covers  three  years,  and  aims,  first,  to  equip 
every  student  to  be  a  leader  in  religious  w^ork  for  boys  and  young 
men,  and  second,  to  give  him  a  technical  knowledge  of  the  work 
he  expects  to  undertake  in  the  Young  Men's  Christian  associa- 
tion. 

The  French-American  college,  originated  in  Lowell,  1885, 
in  a  desire  to  extend  the  light  and  the  truth  of  the  gospel  of 
Christ  to  Canadian-French  youth.  It  secured  land  and  buildings 
and  may  be  said  to  have  been  founded  in  Springfield  in  1888. 

(      260      ) 


EDUCATION 

Four  years  later,  women  were  admitted,  and  its  plan  was  broad- 
ened to  include  a  full  college  and  a  preparatory  academical 
course.  While  its  original  purpose  to  educate  and  christianize 
the  Canadian  French  is  strenuously  maintained,  it  now  admits 
with  these,  Italians,  Armenians,  and  others,  who  cannot  well  be 
cared  for  in  ordinary  American  schools.  The  rapid  increase  of 
foreigners  in  our  county  and  in  other  parts  of  New  England,  it 
is  believed,  demands  such  an  institution,  if  the  truths  of  the 
gospel  are  to  be  brought  home  in  their  native  tongues,  to  the 
French  and  to  other  foreigners  settling  among  us.  It  is  claimed 
that  such  a  college  is  needed  if  we  would  make  those  coming 
among  us  from  other  countries,  enlightened  and  worthy  citizens. 
Large  place  is  given  to  the  study  of  the  Bible  and  of  the  modern 
languages,  though  the  aim  is  to  give  each  student,  as  far  as  may 
be,  the  benefit  of  a  well  rounded  college  course,  that  each  may  be 
equipped  for  leadership  among  his  own  people. 

The  Woman's  hall,  recently  erected,  one  of  the  six  buildings 
now  belonging  to  the  college,  is  a  commodious  and  very  service- 
able building.  The  campus  and  other  college  grounds  include 
five  and  one-half  acres.  The  college  makes  some  provision  for 
student  labor  and  instruction  in  domestic  economy  and  the 
practical  arts.  The  growth  of  the  college  has  compelled  expen- 
ditures in  excess  of  receipts.  If  it  is  to  accomplish  its  beneficent 
purposes,  funds  must  be  obtained  for  buildings,  for  an  endow- 
ment, and  to  meet  increasing  current  expenses. 

The  Spring-field  business  college  was  established  several 
years  ago  and  has  trained  many  young  men  and  many  young 
ladies  for  the  successful  discharge  of  the  varied  duties  of  the 
counting-room.  It  claims  a  more  successful  patronage  than  any 
other  similar  institution  in  Western  Massachusetts. 

The  "Bay  Path  Institute,"  during  the  few  years  of  its  his- 
tory, has  reached  a  high  standard  of  excellence.  It  has  rapidly 
gained  the  confidence  of  business  men  by  the  thoroughness  of  its 
teaching  and  training,  and,  with  its  recently  enlarged  facilities, 
confidently  expects  to  provide  for  its  increasing  patronage. 

"The  Elms."  a  family  and  day  school,  delightfully  situated 
at  No.  141  High  street,  gives  opportunity  by  its  courses  of  study 

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OVR  COUMY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

for  primary,  intermediate  and  hifrher  instruction.  The  college 
preparatory  course  covers  four  years,  and  the  English  depart- 
ment a  like  period. 

The  iMacDnffe  school  is  an  nnsectarian  school  for  the  liberal 
education  of  girls.  Its  aim  is  the  development  of  a  sound  body 
and  of  systematic,  scholarly  habits  of  thought.  Its  certificate  of 
qualifications  admits  students  to  Vassar  and  to  the  three  women's 
colleges  in  our  state.  Well  rounded  courses  of  study  and  train- 
ing prepare  those  who  do  not  enter  college,  for  the  duties  of  life. 
The  buildings  of  the  school  are  on  the  grounds  of  the  homestead 
of  the  late  Samuel  Bowles,  formerly  editor  of  the  Springfield 
Republican.  The  equipment  of  this  school  challenges  compari- 
son with  that  of  any  private  school  for  girls  in  the  state. 

The  Harvard  Street  kindergarten,  opened  some  ten  years 
ago  by  jNIiss  Herrick,  won  its  way  when  kindergartens  were  new 
among  us.  It  did  much  to  pave  the  way  for  the  establishment  of 
kindergartens  as  part  of  the  present  school  system  of  Springfield. 
Miss  Putnam,  whose  work  is  highly  appreciated,  took  charge  of 
this  kindergarten  September,  1895. 

Any  enumeration  of  the  schools  and  the  charitable  institu- 
tions that  the  Catholics  have  set  up  and  have  generously  main- 
tained in  Hampden  county,  during  the  past  thirty  years,  would 
furnish  impressive  evidence  of  the  self-denial,  the  religious  zeal, 
and  the  liberality  of  the  members  of  the  Catholic  church. 

Rev.  Patrick  Healy,  who  was  appointed  to  care  for  the 
"Parish  of  the  Holy  Name  of  Jesus,"  in  1864,  seems  to  have  been 
the  first  to  establish  a  parochial  school  in  Hampden  county.  The 
historian  of  the  Springfield  Diocese,  Rev.  J.  J.  McCoy,  now  in 
charge  of  the  "Parish,"  thus  speaks  of  Father  Healy,  and  of  the 
opening  of  the  school :  ' '  He  was  the  pioneer  of  parochial  school 
education  in  this  diocese.  Three  years  after  his  coming,  he  built 
the  Convent  of  the  Sacred  Heart  of  Mary,  and  called  thereto  four 
sisters  of  Notre  Dame,  to  take  charge  of  St.  Joseph's  school  for 
girls.  They  were  Sisters  Mary  Albanie,  Mary  Rosa,  Felicitas 
and  ]\Iagda]en  of  St.  Joseph.  Sister  INIary  Albanie  was  the 
superior.  Father  Healy  met  them  at  Springfield,  and  had  them 
driven  in  a  hack  to  Chicopee.     The  people  of  the  parish  were 

(      262      ) 


EDUCATION 

gathered  iu  the  church  to  greet  them,  and  in  the  middle  aisle 
stood  three  hundred  children  dressed  in  white,  who  commenced, 
at  the  entrance  of  the  sisters,  the  chanting  of  the  Litany  of  the 
Blessed  Virgin,  and  the  singing  of  hymns  of  praise  to  God. 
These  concluded,  one  of  their  number,  Miss  Sarah  Bowe,  welcomed 
the  Sisters,  saying:  'Permit  me,  dear  Sisters,  on  behalf  of  my 
youthful  companions,  who  have  chosen  me  to  represent  them  on 
this  joyful  occasion,  to  offer  you  from  our  hearts  a  most  sincere 
and  cordial  welcome  to  your  new  home.  You  come  to  devote 
your  lives  to  us,  and  we  trust  that  in  all  our  actions,  nothing  may 
ever  occur  to  cause  you  any  regret.  We  beg  God,  dear  Sisters, 
to  bless  and  strengthen  your  charitable  undertaking,  and  we 
sincerely  hope  that  we  may  ever  bless  this  day  when  we  for  the 
first  time  become  your  obedient  and  devoted  children.'  .  .  . 
The  second  of  September  following,  the  first  school  was  opened 
in  the  side  chapel  of  the  church.  There  were  two  hundred  girls 
in  attendance.  October  15,  the  Rt.  Rev,  Bishop  Williams  of 
Boston,  dedicated  the  convent  chapel  and  schoolhouse,  which 
latter,  at  the  Sisters'  coming,  was  unfinished." 

"It  were  hardly  possible  to  speak  of  Father  Healy  and  his 
work  without  recalling  to  all  who  knew  him  the  'little  superior,' 
Sister  Mary  Albanie,  who  came  the  first  days  the  Sisters  came, 
and  for  twenty-three  years  kept  equal  pace  by  his  side  in  all  the 
works  done  for  God  in  the  parish;  and  who,  if  grateful  hearts 
speak  the  truth,  though  in  poverty  herself,  from  her  mite  fed  and 
clothed  whole  families.  The  general  estimation  of  her  is  found 
in  the  words  of  an  aged  and  respectable  lady  of  the  parish, 
spoken  to  the  present  Superior  Sister  Imelda  of  the  Sacred  Heart, 
'The  good  old  Superior  took  care  of  my  small  children  while  I 
worked  in  the  mill.  This  was  done,  sister  dear,  that  the  eldest, 
Katie,  might  attend  school.  She  would  do  anything  for  the  love 
of  God.'  " 

The  charming  and  apparently  very  candid  history  of  Rev. 
J.  J.  INIcCoy  went  to  press  in  1900.  It  will  repay  careful  perusal. 
To  it  we  must  refer  those  who  would  know  more  of  the  rise  of  the 
fourteen  or  more  parochial  schools  in  our  county.  A  few  sta- 
tistics gathered  from  its  statements  may  be  interesting. 

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OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

There  are  nearly  seven  thousand  pupils  in  the  parochial 
schools  in  Hampden  county.  These  schools  are  organized  to  cor- 
respond in  grading  with  the  public  schools,  and  in  some  cases 
furnish  secondary  instruction.  These  schools,  with  very  few- 
exceptions,  are  taught  by  sisters  from  some  of  the  convents.  The 
girls  in  attendance  largely  outnumber  the  boys. 


CHAPTER  XVII 

STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL,  WESTFIELD 
BY   JAMES  CARRUTHERS  GREENOUGH,   LL.  D. 

The  decline  of  the  public  schools  previous  to  the  revolution, 
the  rise  of  academies  and  other  private  schools  in  the  earlier  part 
of  the  nineteenth  century,  resulting  in  the  increased  neglect  of 
the  public  schools,  we  have  already  noticed  in  the  chapter  on  the 
History  of  Education.  The  better  methods  of  teaching  employed 
in  some  of  the  academies,  the  higher  grade  of  teachers  secured, 
and  the  better  ideals  of  a  school  which  academies  maintained, 
rendered  the  need  of  improvement  of  the  public  schools  more 
apparent. 

From  among  those  educated  in  public  schools,  acad- 
emies and  colleges,  who  had  informed  themselves  of  the  great 
educational  movement  in  Germany,  came  educational  leaders, 
who  sought  to  arouse  an  intelligent  interest  in  measures  adapted 
to  improve  the  public  schools.  One  evidence  of  their  success  was 
the  passage  by  the  Massachusetts  legislature  of  the  act  of  1826, 
requiring  the  election,  in  every  to-wTi.  of  a  school  committee,  to 
have  general  charge  of  the  schools  and  to  make  annual  reports  to 
the  towns  and  returns  to  the  state.  The  abstract  of  returns 
presented  to  the  legislature  in  1827  was  made  from  the  returns 
of  214  towns  out  of  the  802  towns  in  the  state.  As  yet  the  state 
had  devised  no  inducement  sufficient  to  secure  returns  from  all 

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STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL 

the  toAvns,  and  many  of  those  received  were  not  what  were  re- 
quired. Not  to  quote  from  towns  out  of  the  county,  the  returns 
from  Springfield  may  illustrate  : 

"Number  of  children  from  7  to  16  not  attending  school— We 
are  not  able  to  make  an  accurate  return.  AYe  do  not  kiioiv  that 
any  abstain  wholly  from  school,  but  the  attendance  in  all  the 
schools  is  very  irregular  and  uncertain." 

The  returns  were  sufficient  to  show  that  a  large  percentage 
of  children  of  school  age  were  not  in  the  schools,  that  about  one- 
fifth  of  those  Avho  did  attend  were  in  private  schools  or  academies, 
and  that  a  large  share  of  the  money  paid  for  instruction  was  paid 
to  these  institutions. 

CTOvernor  Lincoln,  in  his  inaugural  of  June  6,  urged  upon 
the  legislature  the  necessity  of  improving  the  public  schools,  and 
to  this  end  "the  adoption  of  measures  for  the  better  qualification 
of  teachers  of  youth. ' '  The  same  year,  James  G.  Carter,  of  Lan- 
caster, presented  a  memorial  asking  the  legislature  to  make  an 
appropriation  in  aid  of  a  school  for  the  professional  instruction 
of  teachers.  It  has  been  said  of  Mr.  Carter,  that  "from  1821, 
when  he  began  to  publish  his  articles  on  the  free  schools  of  New 
England,  until  the  establishment  of  the  state  board  of  educa- 
tion,''—sixteen  years— "he  did  more  than  any  other  person,  by 
his  writings  and  public  addresses,  to  reawaken  an  interest  in  pop- 
ular education  and  to  suggest  the  means  of  improving  the  public 
schools."  A  committee  of  the  legislature  reported  a  bill  in  ac- 
cord with  the  memorial ;  but  it  was  defeated  in  the  senate  by  a 
majority  of  one.  A  bill  favoring  the  establishment  of  a  fund  in 
aid  of  schools  was  debated  and  also  defeated. 

In  1834  the  legislature  established  a  school  fund  limited  at 
that  time  to  $1,000,000.  In  the  distribution  of  the  income  of  this 
fund,  the  legislature  could  now  furnish  inducements  to  towns  to 
comply  with  legislative  requirements.  Governor  Boutwell  has 
said  that  the  creation  of  the  school  fund  was  the  most  important 
educational  measure  ever  adopted  by  the  government  of  the  com- 
monwealth. 

The  progressive  teachers  of  the  state  in  the  meantime  were 
not  inactive.     August  19,  1830,  a  body  of  earnest  teachers,  intent 

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01 R  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

upon  securing:  better  i)nblie  schools,  met  in  the  representatives' 
hall,  Boston,  adopted  a  constitution  and  organized  an  association ; 
this  was  incorporated  in  1831,  under  the  title  "The  American 
Institute  of  Instruction."  In  January,  1837,  George  B.  Emer- 
son, as  chairman  of  the  board  of  directors  of  the  institute,  pre- 
sented a  memorial  to  the  legislature  praying  for  the  establish- 
ment of  one  or  more  seminaries  for  the  instruction  of  teachers. 

April  14,  the  committee  on  education,  to  whom  had  been 
referred  so  much  of  Governor  Everett's  inaugural  as  referred  to 
education,  the  memorial  of  the  institute  and  other  documents  of 
similar  import,  reported  the  following  bill : 

"Be  it  enacted,  etc.,  as  follows: 

"Sect.  1.  His  excellency,  the  governor,  wdth  the  advice  and 
consent  of  the  council,  is  hereby  authorized  to  appoint  eight  per- 
sons, who,  together  with  the  governor  and  lieutenant-governor 
ex-officio,  shall  constitute  and  be  denominated  'The  Board  of 
Education;'  and  the  persons  so  appointed  shall  hold  their  offices 
for  the  term  of  eight  years." 

On  the  20th  of  April,  1837,  the  act  was  passed,  and  on  the 
27th  of  May  following.  Gov.  Edward  Everett  appointed  the  fol- 
lowing members  of  the  board  of  education :  James  G.  Carter, 
Emerson  Davis,  Edmund  Dwight,  Horace  Mann,  Edward  Ncav- 
ton,  Thomas  Robbins,  Jared  Sparks,  George  Hill ;  cx-officiis, 
Edward  Everett,  governor,  George  Hall,  lieutenant-governor. 
Two  of  these,  Emerson  Davis  and  Edmund  Dwight  have  insepar- 
ably connected  themselves  with  the  history  of  Hampden  county. 

Dr.  Davis  Avas  graduated  from  Williams  college  with  salu- 
tatory honors,  was  tutor  in  the  college  for  one  year,  and  later,  for 
several  years,  was  its  vice-president.  For  fourteen  years  he  was 
principal  of  Westfield  academy,  and  afterwards,  for  thirty  years, 
pastor  of  the  first  Congregational  church  of  Westfield,  until  the 
time  of  his  sudden  death  in  1866.  He  was  the  author  of  books, 
historical  and  educational,  was  well  informed  respecting  the  pro- 
gress of  popular  education  at  home  and  abroad,  and  was  a  man 
of  large  common  sense  and  withal  was  endowed  with  that  judicial 
temperament  Avhich  ever  belongs  to  wise  men.  He  was  eminently 
fitted  to  discharge  his  duties  as  a  member  of  the  highest  educa- 
tional council  of  the  commonwealth. 

(      266      ) 


STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL 

]Mr.  DAvight,  then  a  resident  in  Boston  and  member  of  the 
house  of  representatives,  has  left  ns  monuments  of  his  business 
talent  and  foresight  in  the  large  manufacturing  interests  he 
helped  to  found  and  to  fovSter  in  Chicopee,  and  in  other  parts  of 
our  valley.  Yet  he  never  allowed  himself  to  be  so  submerged  in 
business  as  to  neglect  his  own  personal  culture  or  to  divert  his 
attention  from  the  interests  of  popular  education.  Its  evolution 
in  Europe  and  in  his  own  country  he  carefully  traced.  His  gen- 
erous hospitality  and  the  social  attractions  of  his  home,  as  well 
as  his  money  and  personal  influence,  were  used  to  promote  the 
public  weal.  He  belonged  to  an  old  and  honored  family  of 
Springfield.  Public  spirit  and  unsullied  patriotism  flowed  in 
his  veins.  He  invited  to  his  table  fellow  legislators  of  large 
influence  and  stirred  the  zeal  of  men  friendly  to  providing  special 
training  to  teachers  as  a  means  of  uplifting  the  public  schools. 
He  invited  those  opposed  to  new  measures,  and  skilfully  disarmed 
their  opposition.  The  issue,  however,  he  saw  was  very  doubtful ; 
that  with  such  a  governor  as  Everett  a  forward  movement  was 
possible,  that  postponement  might  delay  progress  for  years.  The 
party  then  out  of  power  was  not  in  favor  of  certain  progressive 
measures.  AVhether  he  divined  that  the  Whig  party  was  soon  to 
lose  its  prestige  by  the  election  of  a  democratic  governor,  we  do 
not  know.  He  had  done  much ;  he  determined  to  add  one  more 
inducement  for  the  furtherance  of  popular  education.  He  of- 
fered $10,000,  provided  the  state  would  appropriate  an  equal 
sum,  to  be  expended  under  the  direction  of  the  board  of  edu- 
cation "for  qualifying  teachers."  He  was  aware  that  the  money 
might  be  expended  in  an  unsuccessful  experiment;  but  he  had  the 
courage  of  his  convictions  and  the  heroism  of  a  true  patriot.  On 
the  19th  of  April,  1838,  the  legislature  accepted  the  offer  of 
Edmund  Dwight  and  the  founding  of  one  or  more  normal  schools 
was  so  far  assured.  Hampden  county  was  also  honored  a  little 
later,  in  1889,  by  the  appointment  of  William  G.  Bates,  of  West- 
field,  as  a  member  of  the  board  of  education.  He  served  eight 
years,  declining  re-election,  owing  to  the  pressure  of  his  legal 
business  and  other  duties  to  which  he  was  called.  He  was  a  man 
of  rare  intellectual  ability,  of  large  executive  energy,  and  of 

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OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

unresting  devotion  to  the  public  good.  To  him  was  due  the  suc- 
cess of  many  of  the  early  measures  of  the  board.  He  wrote  the 
eighth  axinual  report  of  the  board,  in  which  is  the  first  official 
recommendation  in  favor  of  using  the  Bible  in  the  common 
schools.  One  of  his  law  partners  has  said  of  him  :  "He  had  fine 
literary  culture  and  a  mind  seasoned  by  familiarity  with  the 
standard  English  classics  and  the  best  models  of  the  English 
tongue.  ...  As  a  writer,  he  melded  a  graceful,  vigorous, 
and  prolific  pen,  showing  mastery  of  'English  undefiled, '  evinced 
by  a  large  number  of  public  addresses  and  documents  and  articles 
for  the  public  press."  His  elegant  yet  forceful  address  at  the 
dedication  of  the  Normal  school  building  at  Bridgewater,  Sep- 
tember 3.  1846.  was  in  every  way  befitting  the  man  and  the  occa- 
sion. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  board  of  education  was  held  the 
29th  of  June,  1837.  The  most  important  action  of  this  meeting 
was  the  choice  of  Horace  Mann,  then  president  of  the  state  sen- 
ate, to  be  the  secretary  of  the  board.  The  intense  earnestness  of 
Mr.  Mann,  which  never  waned  during  all  the  years  he  held  the 
office,  is  shoA\Ti  from  the  fact  that  in  less  than  three  months  from 
the  time  he  entered  upon  the  duties  of  his  office,  August  28,  1837, 
he  met  in  convention  the  friends  of  education  in  every  county 
save  Suft'olk,  examined  personally,  or  through  reliable  evidence 
obtained  definite  knowledge  of,  the  plan  and  condition  of  eighteen 
hundred  school  houses,  and  informed  himself  of  the  actual  needs 
of  the  public  schools  in  one-half  of  the  towns  of  the  common- 
wealth. 

We  have  seen  that  the  liberality  of  Mr.  Dwight,  seconded  by 
the  action  of  the  legislature,  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  board 
of  education  $20,000  to  be  used  for  "qualifying  teachers  for  the 
common  schools  of  Massachusetts."  The  mode  of  expending  the 
money  was  not  specified,  the  responsibility  of  success  or  failure 
was  lodged  with  the  board.  The  debates  held  are  not  within  our 
knowledge  :  the  questions  debated  are  left  on  record :  "Shall  the 
board  concentrate  its  efforts  and  expend  its  funds  upon  a  single 
school  ?  Shall  it  create  pedagogical  departments  in  existing 
academies  ?     Shall  the  normal  schools  first  opened  be  for  women 

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STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL 

alone,  or  for  men  alone,  or  for  each  in  separate  schools?  Shall 
the  two  be  trained  in  the  same  school  ? ' ' 

The  board  decided  as  an  experiment  to  locate  three  schools, 
separate  from  other  institutions,  in  snch  places  as  would  accom- 
modate different  sections  of  the  state,  and  to  provide  for  the 
education  of  men  and  of  women  in  the  same  school  or  in  separate 
schools,  as  the  sentiment  of  the  community  in  which  the  school  was 
to  be  located  and  other  conditions  should  determine.  The  title 
Normal  was  applied  in  accordance  with  the  usage  of  Prussia  in 
designating  her  schools  for  the  special  education  of  teachers.  The 
studies  first  in  order  to  be  pursued  in  the  Normal  schools  were 
those  then  required  by  law  to  be  taught  in  the  district  schools, 
viz.,  orthography,  reading,  writing,  English  grammar,  geography 
and  arithmetic.  "When  these  are  thoroughly  mastered,"  con- 
tinues the  official  announcement,  "those  of  a  higher  order  will  be 
progressively  taken."  The  announcement  farther  affirms :  "Any 
person  wishing  to  remain  at  the  school  more  than  one  year,  in 
order  to  increase  his  qualifications  for  teaching  a  public  school, 
may  do  so,  having  first  obtained  the  consent  of  the  principal ;  and 
therefore  a  further  course  of  study  is  marked  out.  The  whole 
course,  properly  arranged,  is  as  follows : 

"1.  Orthography,  Reading,  Grammar,  Composition  and 
Rhetoric,  Logic. 

"2.     Writing,  Drawing. 

"3.  Arithmetic,  mental  and  written.  Algebra,  Geometry, 
Bookkeeping,  Navigation,  Surveying. 

"4.  Geography,  ancient  and  modern,  with  Chronology,  Sta- 
tistics and  General  History. 

' '  5.     Physiology. 

"6.     Mental  Philosophy. 

' '  7.     Music. 

"8.  Constitution  and  History  of  Massachusetts  and  of  the 
United  States. 

' '  9.     Natural  Philosophy  and  Astronomy. 

"10.     Natural  History. 

"11.  The  principles  of  Piety  and  Morality  common  to  all 
sects  of  Christians. 

(      269      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

"12.  The  Science  and  Art  of  Teaching  ivith  reference  to  all 
the  above  named  studies. 

"A  portion  of  the  Scriptures  shall  be  read  daily  in  every 
Normal  sehool.  A  selection  from  the  above  course  of  studies  will 
be  made  for  those  who  are  to  remain  at  the  sehool  but  one  year, 
according  to  the  particular  kind  of  school  it  may  be  their  inten- 
tion to  teach." 

To  each  Normal  school  was  to  be  attached  "an  experimental 
or  model  school,"  in  which  pupils  of  the  Normal  school  could 
apply  their  knowledge  and  be  trained  to  teach. 

The  board,  aware  that  they  were  entering  a  field  untried  in 
America  hitherto,  used  their  best  endeavors  to  secure  the  right 
men  for  principals. 

Samuel  P.  Newman,  professor  of  rhetoric  and  political  econ- 
omy in  Bowdoin  college,  Brunswick,  Maine,  was  elected  principal 
of  the  Barre  school.  In  connection  with  the  official  notice  of  the 
opening  of  the  school,  September  14,  1839,  occurs  this  description 
of  Mr.  Newman : 

"Mr.  Newman  is  already  extensively  known  to  the  public  as 
the  author  of  a  work  upon  rhetoric,  which  is  used  as  a  text  book 
in  many  of  the  schools,  academies  and  colleges  of  the  United 
States;  and  also  of  a  treatise  upon  political  economy  which  has 
passed  through  many  editions.  We  learn  that  he  has  been  very 
popular  as  professor  in  Bowdoin  college.  For  several  years  he 
officiated  as  president  of  that  institution,  and  he  is  now  discharg- 
ing the  duties  of  that  office.  Mr.  Newman  therefore  brings  to  his 
new  station  long  experience,  and  a  high  and  well  earned  reputa- 
tion. We  are  happy  farther  to  state  that  such  are  his  general 
views  of  the  importance  of  improved  means  of  education,  for  the 
great  body  of  the  people,  that  he  regards  the  office  of  principal  of 
a  Normal  school,  as  neither  less  dignified  in  its  character,  nor  less 
elevated  in  its  objects,  than  that  to  which  his  life  has  been  hith- 
erto devoted— believing  that  any  station  which  aims  at  the  wel- 
fare and  improvement  of  large  numbers  of  mankind,  cannot  be 
less  honorable  or  elevated  than  an  office  which,  though  it  may  give 
its  possessor  the  power  of  conferring  higher  privileges,  limits 
those  privileges  to  a  few." 

(      270      ) 


STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL 

The  third  Normal  school,  that  at  Bridgewater,  was  not 
opened  until  a  year  after  that  at  Barre.  Nicholas  Tillinghast,  a 
graduate  of  the  U.  S.  i\Iilitary  academy  at  West  Point,  was  urged 
by  Mr.  Mann  to  become  its  principal.  After  serious  considera- 
tion, and  with  great  reluctance,  Mr.  Tillinghast  decided  to  accept 
the  post.  He  had  held  command  in  the  west  and  southwest  for 
five  years,  had  taught  natural  sciences  and  ethics  in  the  academy 
for  six  years,  and  had  resigned  his  place  in  the  army  "to  enter" 
as  a  teacher  of  a  private  school  in  Boston  "upon  more  congenial 
work."  It  was  a  tribute  to  the  esteem  in  which  Mr.  Newman 
was  held  that  ]\Ir.  Tillinghast  should  spend  at  Barre  six  months 
in  studying  methods  and  in  planning  his  work  previous  to  the 
opening  of  the  Bridgewater  school.  It  would  seem  that  the  pre- 
eminence of  the  Westfield  school,  which  was  often  recognized  in 
after  years,  was  evident  in  its  earliest  years  at  Barre. 
"Hither,  as  to  their  fountain,  other  stars, 
Repairing,  in  their  golden  urns,  draw  light." 

The  progressive  measures  pushed  by  the  tireless  and  invin- 
cible secretary  of  the  board  of  education,  while  animating  the 
zeal  of  the  intelligent  friends  of  popular  education,  excited  the 
opposition  of  those  who  clung  to  what  they  termed  "good  old 
ways, ' '  and  saw  no  need  of  changing  the  old  order  by  introducing 
"new  f angled  notions,"  as  the  new  measures  were  called.  A 
change  in  the  political  affairs  of  the  state  gave  the  opposition  an 
opportunity. 

Quite  exceptional  to  the  usual  election  of  a  whig  governor 
was  the  election  of  Marcus  Morton,  a  democrat.  Governor  Ever- 
ett retired,  having  served  four  years  in  succession.  With  unmis- 
takable zeal  he  had  co-operated  with  the  board  of  education  and 
their  ardent  secretary,  in  establishing  the  Normal  schools  and  in 
promoting  other  progressive  measures. 

Horace  Mann,  commenting  in  the  Common  School  Journal, 
which  at  that  time  he  edited,  upon  the  inaugural  of  Governor 
Morton,  commends  it.  Its  tone  was  not  clearly  opposed  to  the 
policy  of  his  predecessor,  yet  it  is  now  easy  to  see  that  there  was 
material  in  it  satisfactory  to  the  narrow  conservatives  of  Morton's 
party.     He  says:     "The  system  of  free  schools,  which  has  been 

(      271      ) 


01 R  COVh'TY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

transmitted  from  generation  to  generation,  has  improved  in  its 
progress  and  is  now  in  a  high  degree  of  perfection."  This  last 
clause  shows  a  flight  of  the  imagination  equalled  only  by  the  con- 
trasted facts  collated  by  Secretary  Mann.  Again,  speaking  of 
the  common  schools,  the  governor  says:  "In  the  town  and  dis- 
trict meetings,  those  little  pure  democracies,  where  our  citizens 
first  learn  the  rudiments  and  the  practical  operations  of  free 
institutions,  may  safely  and  rightly  be  placed  the  direction  and 
the  government  of  these  invaluable  seminaries." 

On  the  third  of  ]\Iarch,  1840,  the  committee  on  education 
were  directed  by  an  oi-der  of  the  house  to  consider  the  expediency 
of  abolishing  the  board  of  education  and  the  Normal  schools  and 
to  report  by  bill  or  otherwise.  The  majority  of  the  committee 
brought  in  a  lengthy  report  setting  forth  among  other  grievances 
that ' '  if  the  Board  of  Education  has  any  power,  it  is  a  dangerous 
power,  trenching  directly  upon  the  rights  and  duties  of  the  legis- 
lature ;  if  it  has  no  power  why  continue  its  existence  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  commonwealth  ?  .  ,  ,  The  establishment  of  the 
board  of  education  seems  to  be  the  commencement  of  a  system  of 
centralization  and  monopoly  of  power  in  a  few  hands,  contrary 
in  every  respect  to  the  true  spirit  of  our  democratic  institutions ; 
and  which,  unless  speedily  checked,  may  lead  to  unlooked-for  and 
dangerous  results."  The  next  point  of  attack  was  the  plan  of 
the  board  to  place  a  little  library  in  every  district.  Then  oc- 
curred the  vicM's  of  the  committee  respecting  Normal  schools. 
' '  It  appears  to  your  committee,  that  every  person  who  has  himself 
undergone  a  process  of  instruction  must  acquire  by  that  very 
process  the  art  of  instructing  others.  This  certainly  will  be  the 
case  with  every  person  of  intelligence  ;  if  intelligence  be  wanting, 
no  system  of  instruction  can  supply  its  place.  Considering  that 
our  district  schools  are  kept  on  an  average  for  only  three  or  four 
months  in  the  year,  it  is  obviously  impossible,  and,  perhaps,  it  is 
not  desirable,  that  the  business  of  keeping  these  schools  should 
become  a  distinct  and  separate  profession  which  the  establishment 
of  Normal  schools  seems  to  anticipate." 

After  urging  much  more  in  a  similar  strain,  the  report  closed 
by  presenting  a  bill  entitled,  "An  act  to  Abolish  the  board  of 

(      272      ) 


STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL 

education/'  This  act  included  provisions  for  abolishing  the 
Normal  schools  and  for  returning  to  Edmund  Dwight  the  $10,000 
he  had  generously  given  for  qualifying  teachers  for  conunon 
schools.  For  some  days  the  conservatives  seemed  sure  of  victory ; 
but  a  minority  report  by  John  A.  Shaw,  member  of  the  house 
from  Bridgewater,  and  Thomas  A.  Greene,  ably  supported  by 
documents  from  George  B.  Emerson  and  by  other  evidence  of  the 
excellent  work  of  the  Normal  schools,  seems  to  have  restored  the 
good  sense  of  the  legislature.  The  bill  reported  by  the  majority 
of  the  connnittee  was  defeated  by  a  vote  of  182  to  148.  Another 
attempt  equally  hostile  to  the  board  of  education  and  its  valiant 
secretary,  was  made  in  1841 ;  but  it  was  promptly  defeated  by  the 
vote  of  the  house.  Never  after  did  organized  opposition  show  so 
bold  a  front,  and  those  who  were  striving  for  the  improvement  of 
the  public  schools  went  forward  with  a  firmer  step. 

The  Noniial  school  at  Barre  suffered  great  loss  in  the  death 
of  Principal  Newman  in  1842.  It  was  not  easy  to  find  a  suitable 
successor  and  the  school  was  suspended.  Seventy-five  young  men 
and  ninety  young  Avomen  had  been  connected  with  the  school- 
one  hundred  and  sixty-five  in  all.  The  experimental  stage  hav- 
ing passed,  the  board  of  education  began  to  seek  a  permanent 
home  for  the  school  more  accessible  to  those  living  in  western 
Massachusetts  than  Barre.  The  offers  of  several  towns  were  con- 
sidered. Westfield  had  the  advantage  over  some  others  towns 
desiring  the  school,  in  that  it  was  on  the  Western  railroad. 

The  two  men  most  active  and  influential,  it  seems,  in  bring- 
ing the  school  to  Westfield,  were  Rev.  Emerson  Davis,  a  member 
of  the  board  of  education  when  it  Avas  first  organized,  and  Hon. 
AVilliam  G.  Bates,  at  this  time  a  member  of  the  board.  These 
men  pledged  money  in  aid  of  the  school,  and  secured  svibscrip- 
tions  from  others.  The  Avriter  recalls  a  conversation  with  Mr. 
Bates,  in  which  he  said  that  at  the  close  of  a  hot  summer  day 
spent  in  the  trial  of  cases  in  the  court  room  in  Springfield,  he 
learned  that  those  who  had  the  matter  in  immediate  charge  were 
about  to  locate  the  school  in  some  other  toAvn  than  Westfield. 
"Not  having  time,"  said  he,  "to  obtain  a  change  of  linen,  even,  I 
took  the  cars  for  Boston  and  staid  there  until  it  was  decided  that 

18-1  (      273      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

the  Normal  school  should  be  located  in  Westfield. ' '  What  finan- 
cial inducements  his  devotion  to  his  town  led  him  to  make,  we 
know  not.  We  may  be  sure,  however,  that  the  man  who  was  then 
the  acknowledged  leader  of  the  Hampden  bar,  did  not  fail  to 
cumulate  arguments  with  skill  and  to  enforce  them  with  power. 
The  fact  that  Dr.  Davis  was  in  Westfield  and  might  be  prevailed 
upon  to  take  charge  of  the  school  until  a  suitable  principal  could 
be  obtained,  received  due  consideration. 

The  school  was  reopened  September  4,  1844,  in  one  of  the 
rooms  of  the  Westfield  academy.  After  one  term  it  w^as  removed 
to  rooms  fitted  up  for  it  in  the  town  hall  building.  Dr.  Davis  was 
principal  and  William  Clough  first  assistant.  Twenty-three 
young  men  and  twenty-six  young  women  were  examined  for 
admission.  ]\Ir.  Clough,  a  graduate  of  Yale,  and  a  very  thorough 
teacher,  remained  but  one  year.  P.  K.  Clarke,  a  graduate  of  the 
same  college,  and  for  a  time  a  tutor  in  it,  succeeded  Mr. 
Clough.  Dr.  Davis  was  in  the  school  a  part  of  each  day:  he 
taught  some  classes  and  gave  occasional  lectures.  His  large  ac- 
quaintance with  educational  affairs,  his  practical  skill  and  his 
abounding  common  sense  and  good  judgment  proved  of  great 
value  to  the  school  during  this  somewhat  trying  period  in  its  his- 
tory. During  all  the  subsequent  years  of  his  life,  the  school  had 
no  stronger  or  more  helpful  friend  than  Dr.  Davis. 

In  the  meantime,  wdiile  the  school  was  occupying  rooms  in  the 
town  hall,  measures  were  taken  to  secure  a  suitable  building. 

During  the  year  1845  a  number  of  public  spirited  gentlemen 
in  Boston  agreed  to  raise  $5,000  for  the  erection  of  two  Normal 
school  buildings — one  at  Westfield  and  one  at  Bridgewater— on 
condition  that  the  legislature  would  appropriate  an  equal  sum 
for  the  purpose.  The  legislature  appropriated  the  additional 
$5,000.  The  $5,000  to  be  used  in  Westfield  Avas  increased  by  con- 
tributions from  some  of  the  citizens  of  Westfield,  James  Fowler, 
Esq.,  giving  the  lot.  so  that  an  excellent  brick  building  was  erect- 
ed, while  the  building  at  Bridgewater  Avas  of  wood.  On  the  19th 
of  August,  1846,  the  Bridgewater  building  was  dedicated,  ]\Ir. 
Bates  giving  the  dedicatory  address.  On  the  3rd  day  of  Septem- 
ber following,  President  Humphrey  of  Amherst  college  gave  the 

(      274      ) 


STATE  X0R3IAL  SCHOOL 

dedicatory  address  at  the  opening  of  the  building  in  "Westfield. 
In  this  address  he  showed  the  need  of  better  qualified  teachers, 
the  reasons  for  their  professional  education,  what  this  includes, 
and  the  adaptation  of  the  normal  school  to  accomplish  it.  The 
closing  paragraph,  which  we  quote  below,  is  a  just  tribute  to  those 
whose  money  and  whose  personal  efforts  had  brought  the  school  to 
Westfield  and  secured  for  it  a  beautiful  building  of  the  simple 
Ionic  order,  satisfying  alike  to  the  eye  of  the  cultured  artist  and 
the  untaught  critic,  because  of  its  graceful  and  accurate  propor- 
tions. 

"Citizens  of  Westfield,  we  congratulate  you  upon  your  edu- 
cational enterprise  and  privileges.  Few  towns  in  the  common- 
wealth have  acted  upon  a  wiser  forecast.  Besides  your  primary 
schools,  with  doors  wide  open  to  every  child,  however  poor,  you 
have  one  of  the  oldest  and  most  flourishing  academies  in  the  state 
— not  waxing  and  waning,  as  many  do,  but  always  flourishing 
under  able  teachers  and  a  supervision  which  forbids  its  decline. 
With  these  high  advantages  you  might  have  rested  satisfied.  But 
when  the  western  Normal  school  was  to  be  permanently  located, 
you  entered  into  an  honorable  competition  for  the  additional 
facilities  which  it  would  bring  to  your  doors.  Favored  by  your 
natural  advantages,  and  entitling  yourselves  by  liberal  subscrip- 
tions to  the  preference,  you  succeeded.  The  school  which  had 
been  for  some  time  suspended  was  brought  here,  and  re-opened 
with  temporary  accommodations,  and  now  this  beautiful  edifice 
is  to  receive  it.  Much  will  depend  upon  your  co-operation  with 
the  board  and  with  the  teachers  for  its  prosperity.  Upon  your 
aid  in  accommodating  the  scholars  from  abroad  upon  reasonable 
terms,  and  guarding  them  against  those  moral  dangers  which  so 
easily  beset  the  young,  we  confidently  rely.  You  will  not  disap- 
point this  expectation.  You  will  cherish  this  seminary  as  you  do 
your  schools  and  academy.  To  the  cause  of  good  learning  we 
dedicate  it.  To  the  care  and  benediction  of  heaven  we  commend 
it.  May  it  more  than  answer  the  sanguine  hopes  of  its  projectors, 
in  furnishing  teachers  of  a  high  order  for  many  generations." 

The  building  was  sixty-two  by  forty  feet,  two  stories  high, 
presenting  an  entrance  at  each  end  under  high  piazza  roofs  sup- 

(      275      ) 


OVB  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

ported  by  louic  cohiiims.  The  Normal  school  Avas  to  occupy  the 
secoinl  story,  the  teachers,  and  pupils'  desks  being  in  the  central 
room  about  forty  feet  square.  At  each  end  of  this  room  a  door 
opened  into  a  recitation  room.  The  first  story  Avas  similar  in  its 
arrangement  of  rooms  and  was  to  be  occupied  by  the  school  of  the 
central  district  as  an  "experimental  or  model  school."  In  con- 
sideration of  the  town  occupying  these  rooms  with  one  of  its 
schools,  AYestfield  had  appropriated  $1,500  to  the  building  fund. 
David  S.  Kowe  was  appointed  principal,  a  graduate  of  Bow- 
doin  college  and  a  teacher  of  considerable  experience.     The  whole 


First  Normal  School  Building 
Dedicated  September,  '3,  1846 

number  of  applicants  was  55.     Of  these,  47  —  20  young  men  and 
27  young  women,— were  admitted. 

The  Normal  school  thus  fairly  started  on  its  successful  career 
had  much  to  do.  Its  teachers  and  its  students  had  all  the  enthu- 
siasm of  those  who  are  setting  out  on  a  voyage  of  discovery  or 
entering  untrodden  ways  on  an  exploring  expedition.  The  writ- 
ings of  Pestalozzi  and  his  followers  were  studied.  Descriptions 
of  German  schools  were  carefully  read  as  they  had  been  vividly 
outlined  by  Horace  Mann  and  by  others  who  had  visited  these 


(      276      ) 


STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL 

schools.  Ideals  were  formed,  changed,  improved.  That  the 
teacher  should  teach,  and  not  the  text-book,  was  affirmed,  but  the 
method  of  teaching  the  several  studies  required  in  the  common 
schools  was  to  be  wrought  out.  While  in  acquiring  knowledge, 
the  traditional  text  book  method  was  continued  in  the  Normal 
school,  something  sharply  condemnatory  of  that  method  was  for- 
mulated by  teachers  and  pupils  as  they  prepared  and  presented 
real  teaching  exercises  in  elementary  arithmetic,  geography, 
natural  science  and  language.  The  inventive  genius  of  teachers 
and  pupils  was  taxed  to  the  utmost.  If  some  of  the  devices 
wrought  out  and  noted  for  future  use  were  afterward  found  in 
the  district  school  to  be  more  original  and  curious  than  suitable, 
they  excited  interest  and  were  sustained  by  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
teacher. 

The  members  of  the  board  Avere  on  the  alert  to  lend  to  the 
Normal  schools  the  lustre  of  the  reputation  of  illustrious  men  and 
to  enrich  the  course  of  study  with  their  thoughts  upon  educational 
and  scientific  themes.  Guyot,  the  peerless  geographer,  author  of 
^'The  Earth  and  Man,"  gave  new,  comprehensive,  and  profound 
views  of  the  earth ;  Russell  showed  the  power  of  literature  w'hen 
expressed  in  appropriate  utterance.  The  Bible  read  by  him  took 
on  new  and  impressive  meaning.  Agassiz,  with  inexpressible 
charm,  led  the  students  to  discover  wonders  in  the  structure  of 
some  tiny  insect  or  in  a  panorama  of  language  and  illustration 
presented  his  clear  vision  of  the  massive  changes  wrought  during 
the  glacial  age.  These  men,  and  such  as  these,  gave  dignity  to  the 
Normal  school  and  helped  it  forward. 

The  "Bates  Homestead"  was  the  hostel  of  these  distin- 
guished lecturers  during  their  occasional  visits,  and  often  Mrs. 
William  G.  Bates  by  evening  receptions  acquainted  the  towns- 
people with  eminent  men  whose  names  only  had  hitherto,  to  most 
of  them,  been  known. 

The  people  of  Westfield  cared  for  the  students  of  the  Normal 
school  with  the  same  courtesy  and  kindness  that  for  nearly  half  a 
century  had  distinguished  their  care  of  the  students  of  Westfield 
academy.  They  took  them  into  their  families  and  for  less  than 
two  dollars  per  week  provided  the  comforts  of  a  pleasant  home. 

(      277      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

For  those  young  ladies  who  were  compelled  to  live  at  still  cheaper 
rates  or  forego  a  course  at  the  school,  simply  furnished  rooms 
were  provided  in  which  they  boarded  themselves.  The  kindly  at- 
tentions of  the  townspeople  to  the  students  were  so  appreciated 
that  it  was  no  uncommon  thing  for  them  to  come  a  long  way  to 
AVestfield,  while  one  of  the  other  Normal  schools  was  near  their 
home.  For  many  years  the  Normal  school  in  Westfield,  in  num- 
bers, outranked  all  others  in  the  state. 

I  may  not  pass  without  mention  the  genuine  interest  in  the 
highest  welfare  of  the  students  shown  by  the  membei's  of  the  sev- 
eral churches.  Mrs.  Davis,  wife  of  Dr.  Davis,  held  weekly  meet- 
ings for  them  and  other  young  ladies ;  but  she  did  not  rely  upon 
collective  efforts ;  she  became  acquainted  with  each  and  led  many 
by  her  words  and  prayers  to  begin  a  christian  life.  Very  many 
students,  during  all  their  subsequent  lives,  cherished  her  memory 
with  the  tenderest  regard. 

The  period  of  ]\lr.  Rowe's  administration  ended  in  March, 
1854,  when  he  resigned  to  become  principal  of  the  Irving  insti- 
tute, Tarrytown,  N.  Y.  This  was  a  tentative  period.  The  course 
of  the  Normal  school  in  these  years,  and  in  many  following  years, 
was  not  a  way  strcAvn  with  flowers.  The  friends  of  progressive 
measures  had  triumphed  in  the  legislature  and  Horace  Mann 
wrought  a  revolution  in  public  sentiment,  so  far  as  it  was  possible 
for  one  man  to  do  this ;  but  conservative  opposition,  though 
silenced,  was  ready  to  assert  itself  whenever  opportunity  favored. 
There  were  not  wanting  teachers  who  felt  that  the  establishment 
of  Normal  schools  was  indeed  a  recognition  of  the  importance  of 
teaching,  but  who  also  felt  that  the  Normal  school  was  criticising 
and  at  times  condemning  certain  modes  of  procedure  in  the  public 
schools.  Such  teachers  Avere  keen  to  detect  defects  in  the  work 
of  the  Normal  school  or  in  the  work  of  those  there  trained.  The 
opportunities  to  expose  such  defects  were  not  wanting.  Then 
there  was  yet  much  scepticism  respecting  the  need  of  any  such 
professional  training  as  was  proposed.  It  Avas  said,  "Every  one 
can  teach  whatever  he  knows."  It  was  affirmed  that  one's  own 
school  room  was  the  only  place,  and  actual  experience  the  only 
means  for  gaining  wisdom  and  skill  in  the  management  and 

(      278      ) 


STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL 

teaching  of  children.  The  value  of  the  normal  school  Avas  to  be 
proved  by  the  excellent  teaching  of  those  who  had  been  members 
of  the  school.  This  required  time.  School  districts  had  become 
accustomed  to  look  to  the  academies  to  supply  their  best  teachers, 
and  from  the  first,  academies  had  assumed  the  function  of  fitting 
teachers  for  the  public  schools.  The  academies  had  social  pres- 
tige. The  Normal  school  had  its  prestige  to  gain.  In  these  early 
years  of  normal  schools  there  Avas  no  surplus  of  applicants,  so 
there  was  little  opportunity  to  select  promising  candidates  or  to 
pledge  any  to  a  full  course  of  training. 

J\Ir.  William  H.  Wells,  who  succeeded  J\Ir.  Rowe  as  principal 
in  1854.  and  resigned  in  1856,  to  become  superintendent  of  the 
schools  of  Chicago,  was  the  first  to  attempt  to  form  a  graduating 
class  in  the  Westfield  school,  and  to  secure  official  diplomas  for 
those  who  completed  an  authorized  course  of  study. 

Those  who  gathered  in  the  Normal  school  were  in  those  early 
days  quite  diverse,  in  age,  in  ability  and  in  acquisitions.  Stu- 
dents in  the  academy  had  the  charm  of  early  youth,  those  who 
had  the  age  and  the  manner  of  schoolma'ams  and  schoolmasters, 
were  not  infrequent  in  the  Normal  school.  In  the  more  fashion- 
able circles,  a  "normal"  was  sometimes  a  term  denoting  a  sort  of 
nondescript,  or  suggesting  one  of  the  queer  and  funny  folk  im- 
mortalized by  Goldsmith  in  his  "Deserted  Village,"  and  by  Irv- 
ing in  his  "Legend  of  Sleepy  Hollow." 

Yet  in  these  motley  gatherings  of  students  were  those  who 
had  found  in  teaching  what  they  were  fitted  by  nature  to  do. 
They  had  also  found  ideals  of  a  useful  and  satisfying  life,  such 
as  to  them  was  discoverable  in  no  other  employment.  They 
cheerfully  endured  hardship,  grudged  no  toil,  and  labored  on 
with  unlimited  patience,  if  they  could  but  gain  additional  knowl- 
edge and  skill  serviceable  in  teaching.  As  one  became  acquainted 
with  these  students  he  could  but  admire  their  devotion,  and,  even 
if  they  Avere  somewhat  narrow  in  their  mental  vision, one  could  see 
that  it  gained  in  intensity  what  it  lost  in  breadth.  These  Normal 
students  saw,  within  the  four  walls  of  a  district  school  room,  the 
greatest  opportunities  for  developing  true  manhood  and  woman- 
hood, for  uplifting  communities  and  for  helping  forward  the 

(      279      ) 


01 R  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

plans  of  God.  To  bring  such  together  in  a  Normal  school  was 
like  bringing  Loyola  and  his  companions  together  at  the  Univer- 
sity of  Paris.  It  fanned  to  a  flame  an  enthusiasm  that  could 
never  wane. 

These  earnest  men  and  women,  in  a  single  generation  by  their 
work  in  the  schools  of  the  state,  proved  the  value  of  the  Normal 
school,  disarmed  opposition,  and  made  the  people  of  the  state 
willing  to  provide  liberally  for  the  professional  equipment  of 
teachers. 

In  1856,  John  W.  Dickinson  became  principal.  During  his 
college  course.  Mark  Hopkins,  the  almost  peerless  teacher,  had 
been  his  instructor.  Mr.  Dickinson  frequently  visited  Williams- 
town  and  conferred  with  him  during  the  years  he  had  charge  of 
the  school.  Mr.  Dickinson 's  success  as  a  teacher  was  in  no  small 
degree  due  to  President  Hopkins. 

Mr.  Dickinson  had  been  assistant  in  the  school  four  years, 
first  under  Mr.  Rowe  and  afterwards  under  Mr.  Wells.  Mr. 
Wells  was  an  organizer.  He  had  arranged  the  course  of  study 
and  completed  the  mechanism  of  the  school,  so  that  the  way  was 
clear  to  give  full  attention  to  the  principles  and  methods  em- 
ployed. In  developing  these  he  was  aided  by  his  associate  teach- 
ers. James  C.  Greenough,  who  had  the  experience  of  a  success- 
ful teacher  in  country  district  schools,  in  a  village  grammar  and 
high  school,  and  as  principal  of  the  Hacker  grammar  school  in 
the  city  of  Salem,  was  appointed  first  assistant  principal.  Mr. 
Joseph  G.  Scott  became  second  assistant  in  1861.  He  also  since 
leaving  the  Normal  school  had  won  high  approval  as  a  teacher. 
Each  of  these  gentlemen  at  later  dates  became  principal  of  a  Nor- 
mal school.  Though  the  lady  assistants  were  less  permanent  than 
the  assistants  named,  among  them  were  some  of  unusual  ability. 

The  first  improvement  in  the  work  of  the  school  consisted  in 
putting  each  study  into  topical  form  for  teaching.  This  was 
carefully  done  by  each  teacher  in  his  own  department.  These 
topics  were  arranged  in  the  natural  order,  if  the  object  was  to 
teach  elementaiy  truth,  in  the  logical  order  if  the  object  was  to 
teach  scientific  truth.  The  principal  in  the  meantime  was  study- 
ing and  teaching  psychology  mainly  in  the  lines  of  Hamilton, 

(      280      ) 


STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL 

and  evolving  some  general  principles  of  teaching.  His  severely 
logical  mind  and  concise  style  were  adapted  to  this  work.  The 
essential  truths  of  mental  activity  upon  which  all  true  teaching 
depends  are  principles  of  teaching.  The  exposition  and  applica- 
tion of  these  principles  constitute  the  philosophy  of  teaching. 

The  Westfield  school  now  began  to  base  all  its  teaching  on 
clearly  enunciated  principles;  this,  hitherto,  it  is  believed,  had 
never  been  attempted  with  like  originality  and  thoroughness  in 
any  normal  school  in  the  country.  That  the  philosophy  of 
teaching  here  evolved  was  complete  or  perfect,  none  of  its 
framers  would  ever  claim,  but  here  was  a  philosophy  that  in  one 


School  Building,  1860 

normal  school  put  an  end  to  mere  empirical  haphazard  modes  of 
procedure.  There  had  been  much  genuine  teaching  of  the  ele- 
ments of  the  common  branches  and  of  the  objects  of  nature  be- 
fore ;  but  it  had  been  mingled  with,  and  marred  by,  the  misuse 
of  books  and  the  continued  use  of  traditional  but  incorrect 
methods. 

Now,  whether  an  object  or  a  subject  was  the  thing  taught, 
principles  were  recognized  in  its  teaching.  For  instance,  in 
teaching  a  geometrical  form,  the  form  was  presented  to  the  pupil, 
not  words  describing  it ;  the  pupil  was  led  to  study  it  for  himself 

(      281      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

under  the  guidance  of  the  teacher,  to  express  his  ideas  orally  or 
in  Avritiug,  and  was  then  led  to  secure  correct  expressions  of  his 
ideas,  if  his  expressions  were  incorrect.  In  learning  a  general 
ti-uth  the  method  was  the  same.  The  pupil  learned  the  specific 
truths  that  led  to  it  by  his  own  observation  and  thought,  and  for 
himself  made  inferences  by  which  the  general  truth  was  reached, 
being  so  guided  bj^  his  teacher  as  to  proceed  in  proper  order  and 
reach  correct  expressions  of  the  knowledge  gained. 

One  principle  recognized  in  such  teaching  is,  that  mental 
activity  and  knowledge  are  primarily  occasioned  by  objects  of 
thought.  As  this  principle  is  observed  in  all  true  teaching,  such 
teaching  is  termed  objective  teaching.  As  the  principle  that  the 
mind  gains  knowledge,  first  of  the  whole  and  then  of  the  parts, 
involving  analysis,  is  also  recognized  in  all  true  teaching,  such 
teaching  is  termed  analytic  teaching.  Other  principles  that 
were  recognized  together  Avith  these  need  not  here  be  stated.  The 
Normal  school  at  AVestfield  it  is  believed  was  the  first  of  the  nor- 
mal schools  of  our  country  to  evolve,  by  the  study  of  the  human 
mind,  the  principles  embodied  in  the  Analytic-Objective  method 
of  teaching  and  apply  them  in  teaching  all  objects  and  subjects 
of  a  normal  course.  This  method  is  often  called  the  laboratory 
method. 

The  tenn  teaching  is  commonly  applied  to  processes  that  are 
quite  unlike.  It  is  often  applied  to  lecturing.  The  lecturer 
studies  and  presents  in  his  own  language  to  his  pupils  what  he 
has  learned.  The  pupils  through  the  lecturer's  statements  are 
supposed  to  apprehend  the  thought  of  the  lecturer  and  in  subse- 
quent recitation,  or  in  examination,  to  utter  or  write  it.  The 
danger  is,  that  pupils  will  utter  the  words  of  the  lecturer  with- 
out in  their  own  minds  apprehending  his  thought.  The  term 
teaching  is  more  properly  applied  to  analytic-objective  teaching. 
Since  in  this  teaching  the  principle  is  recognized  that  the  mind 
gains  a  knowledge  of  specific  truths  and  by  thinking  of  them 
comes  to  a  knowledge  of  general  truths,  the  method  is  sometimes 
called  the  inductive  method.  As  the  pupil  by  this  method  finds 
truth  for  himself  as  he  studies,  it  is  called  the  heuristic  method 
of  teaching.       This  name  now^  seems  destined  to  supersede  the 

(      282      ) 


STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL 

others.  It  is  used  in  later  pedagogical  books.  Mr.  Dickinson 
regarded  analytic-objective  teaching  as  the  only  teaching  worthy 
of  the  name  ;  all  other  teaching  was  but  informing. 

The  teachers  of  the  school  entertained  no  antagonism  to  the 
appropriate  use  of  books  as  aids  to  teaching,  nor  to  informing  by 
lectures.  They  held  that  if  the  elements  and  main  outlines  of 
subjects  were  taught  by  the  heuristic  method,  the  pupil  would 
gain  real  knowledge,  facility  in  thinking,  and  definite  language 
that  would  form  a  reliable  basis  for  the  acquisition  of  supple- 
mentary knowledge  by  means  of  books  and  lectures. 

The  method  of  teaching  now  adopted  in  the  school  was  di- 
rectly opposed  to  the  traditional  method  that  fixed  the  attention 
of  the  pupil  upon  verbal  statements,  in  the  acquisition  of  knowl- 
edge. The  method  was  revolutionary  and  attracted  much  atten- 
tion. It  was  in  accord  with  the  progressive  thought  of  Rous- 
seau, Pestalozzi  and  Froebel,  then  but  partially  understood.  Edu- 
cators from  different  parts  of  the  country  visited  the  school.  E. 
A.  Sheldon  of  the  famous  Oswego  training  school  came  and 
studied  it,  claiming  that  by  the  aid  of  some  of  the  followers  of 
Pestalozzi,  he  had  already  applied  it  in  some  of  his  elementary 
teaching,  but  admitting  that  he  had  never  before  seen  it  used  in 
all  the  studies  of  a  course,  nor  employed  in  a  normal  school  to 
habituate  students  to  the  recognition  and  application  of  the  prin- 
ciples of  teaching.  E.  E.  White,  from  Ohio,  a  prince  of  edu- 
cators, in  the  course  of  an  extended  tour  for  the  purpose  of  ac- 
quainting himself  with  normal  schools,  visited  the  school,  and 
affirmed  that  it  was  one  of  the  three  normal  schools  in  the  United 
States.  Lowell  Mason,  who  had  earned  his  fame  by  using  a 
similar  method  in  teaching  music,  was  enthusiastic  in  his  appre- 
ciation of  this  heuristic  method.  Joseph  "White,  secretary  of  the 
Board  of  Education,  was  active  in  introducing  it  into  the  schools 
of  the  state,  and  for  this  purpose  frequently  employed  teachers 
of  the  Westfield  school  in  the  state  institutes.  The  principal  of 
the  Normal  school  at  Bridgewater  with  some  of  his  assistants 
made  a  prolonged  visit  to  Westfield,  and  returned  to  make  his 
school  foremost  in  all  the  excellences  of  the  method. 

Enthusiastically  adopted  by  two  of  the  state  Normal  schools, 
earnestly  presented  in  the  institutes,  and  by  graduates  of  the  nor- 

(      283      ) 


OLE  COUMY  AXD  ITS  PEOPLE 

mal  schools  in  their  teaching,  the  method  began  to  be  widely  used. 
Other  events  contributed  to  this  result.  In  1869,  the  first  as- 
sistant principal  of  the  AVestfield  school  was  selected  to  reopen 
the  Connecticut  State  Normal  school  at  New  Britain,  and,  though 
he  aided  in  selecting  some  competent  graduates  of  the  AVestfield 
school  for  assistants  in  the  Connecticut  school,  who,  with  others, 
did  much  to  introduce  the  method  into  that  school  and  into  the 
other  schools  of  the  state,  ]\Ir.  Greenough  decided  to  remain  at 
Westfield.  In  1871,  however,  he  was  elected  to  open  as  principal 
the  Rhode  Island  Normal  school  at  Providence,  and  secured 
graduates  of  the  Westfield  school  as  assistants.  Thus  the  method 
was  rooted  in  the  normal  schools  of  Rhode  Island  and  Connecti- 


School  Building,  1869 

cut,  and  by  graduates  of  these  and  of  the  Massachusetts  schools 
was  introduced  into  the  state  normal  schools  and  many  other 
schools  of  Northern  New  England.  The  graduates  of  the  West- 
field  school  were  also  in  demand  for  the  Oswego  Normal  school, 
for  other  schools  in  New  York  and  for  positions  of  influence  in 
the  western  states. 

When  Mr.  Dickinson  became  secretary  of  the  board  of  edu- 
cation, in  1877,  leaving  INIr.  Scott  principal  of  the  Westfield 
school,  the  spread  of  the  principles  and  method  of  analytic- 
objective  teaching,  as  Mr.  Dickinson  termed  it,  received  new  im- 
pulse.    He  increased   the   number   and  the  efficiency  of  the  in- 


(      284      ) 


STATE  NOBMAL  SCHOOL 

stitutes  and  made  them  potent  in  training  the  teachers  of  the 
state  to  a  knowledge  and  to  the  practice  of  better  methods  of 
teaching.  It  was  his  custom  to  open  each  institute  with  as  clear, 
concise,  and  simple  statement  of  the  principles  of  teaching  as  he 
could  frame.  He  then  so  directed  the  work  of  the  other  teachers, 
that  each  lesson  was  an  illustration  of  principles  and  of  their  ap- 
plication in  teaching.  The  result  was  that  a  simple,  natural  and 
rational  method  of  teaching  was  so  presented  that  not  only 
teachers,  but  large  numbers  of  others  interested  in  public  instruc- 
tion, came  to  see  clearly  and  to  approve  of  genuine  teaching,  and 
became  enthusiastic  in  substituting  it  for  the  text-book  work,  the 
talking  and  the  lecturing,  that  had  hitherto,  under  the  name  of 
teaching,  had  so  large  a  place  in  the  schools  of  the  state.  During 
the  years  of  service  of  Mr.  Dickinson  as  secretary  of  the  board 
of  education,  the  principles  and  the  methods  of  the  Westfield 
and  other  normal  schools  became  so  well  understood  and  appre- 
ciated, that  additional  normal  schools  were  desired  in  several  sec- 
tions of  the  state.  One  argument  used  was,  that  the  establish- 
ment of  additional  normal  schools  would  make  them  more  readily 
accessible  to  a  larger  number  of  those  desiring  to  teach,  and  con- 
sequently the  supply  of  normal  graduates  would  be  increased. 

Had  the  normal  schools  already  established  been  made  more 
accessible  by  a  system  of  mileage  that  would  in  a  sense  have 
brought  the  schools  to  every  town,  making  it  as  inexpensive  for 
students  coming  from  a  distance  as  for  those  living  near,  to  at- 
tend ;  had  the  legislators  by  increased  appropriations  increased 
the  efficiency  of  the  existing  schools,  making  it  possible  for  them 
to  provide  more  complete  and  advanced  courses  of  instruction  — 
had  this  been  done  instead  of  establishing  additional  normal 
schools,  departmental  teachers  could  have  been  furnished  for  our 
larger  schools,  the  professional  instruction  of  teachers  would 
have  been  better  accomplished,  and  at  less  expense,  and  the  in- 
terests of  popular  education  would  have  been  more  rapidly  ad- 
vanced. 

Some  seven  years  before  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Dickinson 
from  the  office  of  secretary,  early  in  the  year  1887,  Mr.  Green- 
ough  became  principal  of  the  AVestfield  school,  Mr.  Scott,  at  his 

(      285      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

own  request,  repeatedly  urged,  being  restored  to  his  former  posi- 
tion, that  of  first  assistant.  A  biographer  of  Mr.  Scott  has  justly 
said  of  him :  "A  keen  and  accurate  scholar,  and  well  versed  in 
all  the  departments  of  study,  Mr.  Scott's  inclinations  led  him  to 
cultivate,  especially,  mathematics  and  the  sciences.  In  the  lat- 
ter field,  perhaps,  was  his  success  most  manifest,  not  alone  in 
lifting  the  school  out  of  the  ordinary  in  the  manner  of  his  in- 
struction, but  also  in  kindling  enthusiasm  in  his  pupils. 
.  .  .  .  It  is  certain  that  he  strengthened  the  foundations  of 
the  school,  intensified  its  mental  and  moral  effects  on  the  pupils, 
and  carried  its  well-known  principles  to  a  higher  perfection  than 
they  had  before  reached." 

When  Mr.  Greenough  entered  upon  his  duties  as  principal 
of  the  Normal  school  he  was  aware  that  the  time  had  come  when 
a  better  material  equipment  must  be  secured  for  the  school,  if 
its  future  progress  was  to  be  assured.  Hon.  M.  B.  Whitney, 
of  Westfield,  for  several  years  chairman  of  the  board  of  visitors. 
on  the  part  of  the  board  of  education,  assisted  by  other  mem- 
bers of  the  board,  obtained  a  legislative  appropriation  of  be- 
tween seven  and  eight  thousand  dollars,  to  be  expended  in  im- 
proving the  boarding  hall,  erected  several  yeare  before,  during 
the  administration  of  Mr.  Dickinson.  During  the  summer  of 
1887  the  improvements  Avere  made.  The  principal  was  already 
urging  the  imperative  need  of  a  new  school  building.  Mr. 
Whitney  brought  this  matter  to  the  notice  of  the  board  of  edu- 
cation and  would  doubtless  have  secured  their  co-operation  a 
year  earlier  than  he  did,  had  not  a  fire  in  the  Normal  school 
building  at  Framingham  led  the  board  to  concentrate  their 
efforts  in  securing  the  Framingham  school  a  new  building. 

Early  in  1889  the  committee  on  education  of  the  house  re- 
ported in  favor  of  a  new  school  building  for  the  Normal  school 
at  Westfield.  AA^hile  the  matter  was  pending  before  the  com- 
mittee, a  meeting  was  held  in  Springfield  of  those  who  were 
anxious  to  secure  a  site  for  the  school  in  that  city,  to  remove  it, 
and  have  the  state  erect  the  new  building  in  Springfield.  The 
people  of  Westfield  could  but  regard  such  a  measure  as  a  "  viola- 
tion of  the  obligation  of  contracts,"  for  persons    in    Westfield 

(      286      ) 


STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL 

had  secured  the  establishment  of  the  school  in  that  town  by  the 
expenditure  both  of  effort  and  of  money.  The  arguments  for 
and  against  changing  the  location  were  forcefully  presented. 
It  was  soon  evident,  however,  that  the  school  Avas  to  remain  in 
Westfield.  It  may  be  said  that  while  no  account  of  the  remark- 
able influence  of  the  school  can  omit  notice  of  the  ability  of  its 
teachers,  both  principals  and  assistants,  something  of  its  unique 
power  has  been  owing  to  its  position.  It  has  developed  and  has 
done  its  work  independent  of  any  town  or  city  school  system. 


Normal  School  Building,  Westfield 

It  has  been  free  to  realize  its  best  ideals  in  a  community  that  has 
cherished  the  school  as  its  own. 

During  the  hour  of  debate  on  the  bill  for  the  Westtield 
school,  when  the  bill  was  before  the  house,  not  a  word  was  spoken 
derogatory  of  the  school,  but  members  of  the  legislature,  from 
the  eastern  and  from  the  middle  as  well  as  from  the  western  sec- 
tions of  the  state,  affirmed  that  they  knew  the  value  of  this  school 
to  communities  and  to  the  state,  by  the  excellent  teachers  they 

(      287      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

had  known  from  the  school,  and  that  whatever  the  school  needed, 
the  state  should  grant.  It  was  an  hour  of  generous  recognition, 
an  hour  of  glad  triumph  to  teachers  and  to  the  graduates  es- 
pecially, who  had  won  this  meed  of  praise.  It  was  an  hour  of 
unmeasured  compensations  and  intense  emotions  to  the  writer, 
who  had  toiled  many  years  to  upbuild  the  school  and  help  its 
students.  The  bill  appropriating  $150,000  unanimously  passed 
the  house  to  be  engrossed,  and  in  due  time  received  the  approval 
of  the  senate  and  the  signature  of  the  governor. 

The  new  building  at  Westfield  was  dedicated  with  appro- 
priate exercises  in  June,  1892.  It  had  been  occupied  by  the 
Normal  school  and  some  departments  of  the  training  school, 
some  months  before. 

It  is  fitting  in  this  connection  to  notice  the  several  training 
schools  that  have  from  time  to  time  been  connected  with  the 
Normal  school.  The  first  building  built  for  the  school  in  West- 
field  had  rooms  on  the  ground  floor  for  a  "model  or  experimental 
school. ' ' 

In  1856  the  training  school  was  discontinued.  The  chil- 
dren were  transferred  to  a  new  building,  built  by  the  town.  For 
several  years  after  1856  the  method  of  practical  training  in  the 
Westfield  school,  was  by  each  pupil  teaching  the  lesson  pre- 
viously assigned,  or  some  part  of  it,  to  his  classmates  as  if  they 
were  children  for  whom  the  lesson  was  prepared.  Thus  so 
much  of  the  recitation  hour  as  was  not  given  to  outlining  the 
following  lesson  by  topics,  or  by  teaching  or  by  both,  was  em- 
ployed by  the  pupils  in  teaching.  There  are  strong  arguments 
for  this  constant  training  in  the  art  of  teaching  in  normal 
classes.  It  certainly  produced  effective  teachers.  It  was  felt, 
however,  that  those  who  are  to  teach  children  should  observe  the 
teaching  of  children  and  have  some  practice  with  them.  After 
some  years  of  separation,  the  children  of  the  central  district  in 
their  several  grades  became  again  connected  with  the  Normal 
school,  under  the  name  "School  of  Observation."  This  school 
rendered  valuable  service  to  the  Normal  school  and  attracted 
considerable  attention.  While  Mr.  Scott  was  principal,  the  con- 
nection of  the  Normal  school  with  the  "School  of  Observation'* 

(      288      ) 


STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL 

was  again  severed,  and  the  annual  appropriation  made  by  the 
legislature,  supplementary  to  the  appropriation  made  by  the  town 
for  this  school,  was  discontinued. 

J\Ir.  Greenough,  Avhom  we  have  seen  succeeded  Mr.  Scott  as 
principal  early  in  1887,  planned  to  have  a  training  school  so 
fully  under  the  control  of  the  authorities  of  the  Normal  school, 
that  really  excellent  teachers  could  be  retained,  all  necessary 
equipments  secured,  and  the  classes  of  such  size  and  the  super- 
vision such  as  to  furnish  ideal  opportunities  for  the  practice 
of  normal  students.  The  necessity  of  a  training  school  was  one 
of  the  arguments  he  employed  when  urging  the  need  of  a  new 
normal  school  building.  In  this  new  building  provision  was 
made  for  the  kindergarten  and  for  several  of  the  lower  grades, 
in  all,  for  about  150  pupils.  When  the  new  building  was  com- 
pleted and  the  rooms  for  the  training  school  occupied,  it  was  evi- 
dent that  the  training  school,  though  eminently  serviceable,  was 
not  adequate  to  the  needs  of  the  Normal  school.  Mr.  Greenough 
planned  to  secure  some  of  the  town  schools  as  training  schools; 
but  to  his  successor  was  left  the  honor  of  securing  the  extension 
of  the  training  schools. 

Mr.  Greenough  was  principal  very  nearly  ten  years.  Dur- 
ing this  period  the  course  of  study  was  reconstructed,  more  atten- 
tion was  given  to  strictly  professional  study,  a  training  school 
including  the  kindergarten  was  organized,  and  a  system  of  prac- 
tical training  developed  which  was  adapted  to  better  fit  the  nor- 
mal student  for  his  work.  The  boarding  hall  was  improved,  the 
attendance  of  the  school  was  increased,  and  a  new  school  build- 
ing, admirable  in  its  arrangements,  was  planned,  built,  and 
equipped,  providing  physical,  chemical,  mineralogical,  geolog- 
ical, and  biological  laboratories.  A  library,  sloyd  room  and 
gymnasium,  beside  the  elegant  hall  and  fine  recitation  rooms,  are 
also  included.  Mr.  Greenough  retired  near  the  beginning  of 
the  year  1897  and  Charles  S.  Chapin  was  appointed  principal. 
Like  his  predecessor,  he  was  a  college  graduate,  had  pursued  a 
course  of  legal  study  and  had  been  admitted  to  the  bar,  before 
making  teaching  a  life  work.  Each  also  had  a  varied  and  suc- 
cessful experience  in  teaching  before  taking  up  the  work  of  a 
normal  school. 

19-1  (      289      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

Mr.  Chapiii,  aided  by  his  able  and  loyal  corps  of  assistants, 
accomplished  much  during  the  short  period,  nearly  five  years,  he 
was  principal.  The  beantifnl  and  commodions  building  erected 
by  the  state  on  the  site  of  the  old  Normal  school  building,  the 
organization  of  this  well  appointed  training  school,  its  course  of 
study,  and  the  reconstruction  of  the  Normal  school  course  of 
study  is  largely  his  work.  He  has  proved  himself  a  successful 
teacher,  a  good  organizer,  and  a  christian  gentleman.  He  re- 
signed his  position  in  \Yestfield,  to  take  charge  of  the  Rhode 
Island  Normal  school  at  Providence  in  September,  1901.  Clar- 
ence A.  Brodeur,  a  gentleman  of  good  scholarship  and  large  pro- 
fessional ability  as  teacher  and  superintendent  of  schools,  was 
appointed  successor  to  Mr.  Chapin. 

Principals 

Samuel  P.  Newman Sept.  4, 1839— Feb.  10.  1842. 

Emerson    Davis Sept.  4,  1844— Sept.  3.  1846. 

David  S.  Row^e Sept.  3,  1846— March,  1854. 

William  H.  Wells Aug.,  1854— April,  1856. 

John  W.  Dickinson Aug.,  1856— Aug.,  1877. 

Joseph  G.  Scott Aug.,  1877— Feb.,  1887. 

James  C.  Greenough Feb.,  1887— Nov.  17,  1896. 

Charles  S.  Chapin , Nov.  17,  1896— Sept.,  1901. 

Clarence  A.   Brodeur Sept.,  1901—* 

Assistants 

Samuel  C.  Damon Sept.  4,  1839— 

Nicholas   Tillinghast 

Edwin  E.  Bliss 

Samuel  A,  Taylor 

James  S.  Russell 

A.  R.  Kent 

William   Clough Sept.,  1844— Sept.,  1845. 

P.  K.  Clarke Sept.,  1845-Sept.,  1846. 

Rebecca  M.  Pennell Oct..  1846— July,  1849. 

Lydia  N.  Mosely March,  1848— July,  1849. 

Sylvester    Scott Sept.,  1849— March,  1850. 

Jane   E.   Avery March,  1850— July,  1853. 

Edw^ard   G.   Beckwith Aug.,  1850— July,  1851. 

George  A.  Corbin Aug.,  1851— Nov.,  1851. 

♦Now  teaching  la  the  school. 

(      290      ) 


STATE  NORMAL  SCHOOL 

Almin  B.  Clapp Nov.,  1851— July,  1852. 

John  W.  Dickinson Aug.,  1852— Aug.,  1856. 

Almin  B.  Clapp March,  1853— July,  1853. 

Melissa  A.  Woodbury Aug.,  1853— July,  1854. 

Arexine  G.  Parsons Aug.,  1854— Dec,  1856. 

Eliza  C.  Halladay Sept.,  1855— Feb.,  1860. 

James  C.  Greexough Aug.,  1856— Sept.,  1871. 

Harriet  A.  AVorth Dec.,  1856— March,  1857. 

Dora  C.  Chamberlain March,  1857— July,  1860. 

William  B.   Green Sept.,  1858— Aug.,  1860. 

Philo  M.   Slocum Sept.,  1860-Sept.  1861. 

Emeline    Parsons Sept.,  1860— April,  1864. 

Malvina    Mitchell 1863 -Sept.,   1869. 

Adelaide  V.  Badger March,  1864-Feb.,  1868. 

Joseph  G.  Scott Nov.,  1861 1877. 

Feb.,  1887-Feb.,  1889. 

Ella  E.  Catlin .- 1867— Sept.,  1872. 

Elvira  Carver Feb.,  1868— Sept.,  1875. 

Sept.,  1877— Jan.  1,  1897. 

Laura  E.  Prentice Sept.,  1870— Sept.,  1887. 

Sarah  F.  Tobie Sept.,  1870-Sept.,  1875. 

S.  Ella  Mole Sept.,  1871— Sept.,  1875. 

Laura  C.  Harding Sept.,  1872— Jan.  1,  1897. 

J.  Silas  Diller Sept.,  1873— Sept.,  1877. 

Alfred  C.  True Sept.,  1875— Sept.,  1882. 

Nannette  a.  Stone Sept.,  1875— Sept.,  1879. 

Arthur   Hinds Sept.,  1877— Sept.,  1880. 

Sara  M.  Kneil Sept.,  1879— Sept.,  1890. 

Walter  B.  Barrows Sept.,  1881— Sept.,  1882. 

Elmer  T.  Merrill Sept.,  1882-Sept.,  1883. 

Frederick  W.   Staebner Sept.,  1882— Aug.  1,  1896. 

Frank  W.  Smith Sept.,  1883-Sept.,  1896. 

A.  C.  Longden Sept.,  1888— Jan.  1,  1897. 

Frances  C.  Gaylord Sept.,  1890— Sept.,  1897. 

Flora   White 1893— Aug.  9,  1895. 

Edith  L.  Cummings Sept., 1895— * 

Charles  B.  Wilson Sept.,  1896 -* 

Adaline  a.  Knight Sept.,  1896—* 

AViLL  S.  Monroe Jan.,  1897-* 

Mildred  L.   Hunter Jan.,  1897-* 

*Xo\v  teaching  iu   Ihe  school. 


291 


OL'R  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

Teachers  of  Vocal  Music 

Asa    Bark Sept.,  1844— Sept.,  1846. 

Truman    Crossett Sept.,  1846— Mar.,  1852. 

George  F.  Miller :\Iar.,  1852— Mar.,  1858. 

Asa    Barr Mar.,  1858-Sept.,  1860. 

Joseph  G.  Scott Sept.,  1860-Sept.,  1875. 

Nannette  a.  Stone -—  1875— Sept.,   1879. 

Laura  C.  Harding Sept..  1879- Jan.  1,  1897. 

A.  Louise  Rogers 1897— Sept.,  1898. 

Sterrie  a.  Weaver Sept.,  1898—* 

Teachers  of  Drawing 

Mrs.  a.  G.  (Parsons)  Dickinson .  Sept.,  1864 1877. 

Nannette  A.  Stone Part  of  the  year,  1875-1876. 

A.  Maria  Spalter Sept.,  1875— Sept.,  1881. 

Clara   Wilson Sept.,  1881-Sept.,  1883. 

Annie  R.  Slafter Sept.,  1883-Sept.,  1887. 

Fanny   H.    Smith Sept.,  1887- Jan.,  1889. 

Annie  N.  Sinclair Jan.,  1889-Sept.,  1894. 

Edith  S.  Copeland Sept.,  1894—* 

Teachers  of  Penmanship 

Paul    W.    Allen,    now    M.    D., 

Barnstable,  Mass Before  1844. 

John  A.  Martin Mar.,  1849- July,  1849. 

D.  F.   Brown July,  1849- July,  1851. 

James  L.  Martin Aug.,  1852— Mar.,  1857. 

Teachers  in  the  Training  School  hefore  it  Became  a  Part  of  the 
Town  System,  Sept.,  1900 

Eunice  M.   Beebe Feb.,  1892-* 

IsABELLE  W.   Gladwin Sept.,  1892-Sept.,  1897. 

E.  Abbe   Clark Sept.,  1893-* 

Jennie  L.  Hale Sept.,  1894-Sept.,  1897. 

Jean  R.  Austin Sept.,  1897- 

Florence  p.  Axtelle Sept.,  1897—* 

Jennie  E.  Stoddard Sept.,  1898—* 

George  S.  Woodward Sept.,  1899-* 

Kindergarten 

Louise  M.  Steinweg jNIarch,  1892— Sept.,  1895. 

Emma  L.   Hammond Sept.,  1895—* 

*Now  teaching  in  the  school. 

(      292      ) 


CHAPTER  XVIII 
THE   HAMPDEN   BENCH   AND   BAR 

(EDITED   BY   CHARLES   L.  GARDNER) 

To  property  understand  and  fully  appreciate  the  history  of 
the  judiciary  of  any  commonwealth,  and  the  worth  and  attain- 
ments of  the  magistrates  and  the  practitioners  at  its  bar,  some, 
knowledge  of  the  origin  and  development  of  the  machinery  and 
spirit  of  this  branch  of  government  is  necessary.  The  sentiment  is 
commonly  expressed  that  the  judicial  system  of  this  common- 
wealth is  largely  copied  or  derived  from  the  common  law  of  Eng- 
land and  slightly  from  the  civil  law  of  the  continent.  In  many 
respects  this  is  true  and  resemblances  may  be  traced  therein. 
There  are  certain  changeless  principles  running  through  the  laws 
of  all  nations  from  the  time  of  INIoses  to  Victoria,  but  a  close 
study  of  the  history  of  the  laws  and  judicial  practice  of  the  state 
will  reveal  the  fact  that  they  are  in  a  great  measure  an  original 
growth,  and  differ  materially  from  the  old  systems  of  Europe. 

In  the  early  history  of  the  colony  of  Massachusetts  Bay  the 
governor  was  in  effect  the  maker,  interpreter  and  enforcer  of 
the  law,  the  chief  judge  of  the  court  of  final  resort,  while  his 
assistants  and  councillors  were  generally  his  obedient  followers.^ 
The  execution  of  the  English  and  colonial  statutes  rested  Avith 

U'levious  to  1639  the  judicial  system  of  the  colony  was  established  with  the 
following  courts  :  First,  the  General  court,  composed  of  the  governor,  deputy 
governor,  assistants  and  deputies,  sitting  twice  in  each  year  :  second,  the  Court 
of  Assistants,  or  Great  Quarter  courts,  composed  of  the  governor,  deputy  gov- 
ernor and  assistants,  sitting  in  Boston  four  times  each  year  ;  and  third,  the  In- 
ferior courts,  kept  by  magistrates,  with  associates  appointed  by  the  general 
court,  with  the  risrlit  of  appeal  from  Inferior  courts  to  the  Court  of  Assistants, 
and  last  appeal  to  the  general  court. 

(      293      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

him,  as  also  did  the  exercise  of  royal  authority:  and  it  was  not 
until  after  the  revolution  that  he  ceased  to  contend  for  these 
prerog:atives  and  to  act  as  if  the  only  function  of  the  court  was 
to  do  his  bidding-  as  servants  and  helpers,  while  the  legislature 
should  enact  only  such  laws  as  the  executive  should  suggest  and 
approve. 

However,  let  us  look  briefly  at  the  present  arrangement  and 
powers  of  the  courts  of  this  state,  and  then  at  the  elements  from 
which  they  have  grown.  The  whole  scheme  is  involved  in  the 
idea  of  fii"st  a  trial  before  a  magistrate  and  jury— arbiters,  re- 
spectively, of  law  and  fact— and  then  a  review  of  the  facts  and 
law  by  a  court  of  last  resort.  To  accomplish  the  purposes  of  this 
scheme  there  has  been  devised  and  established,  first,  the  present 
Supreme  judicial  court,  the  ultimate  tribunal  of  the  state,  per- 
fected in  its  present  form  by  the  conventions  of  1779  and  1780, 
and  taking  the  place  of  the  old  Superior  court  of  judicature,  with 
the  same  jurisdiction,  officers  and  authority.  The  work  of  the 
convention  was  supplemented  bj^  an  act  passed  July  3,  1782, 
entitled  "An  act  to  establish  a  Supreme  judicial  court  within  the 
commonw^ealth, "  to  comprise  one  chief  justice  and  four  associ- 
ates, ''the  whole  or  any  three  of  them  to  have  cognizance  of  pleas, 
real,  personal,  or  mixed,  and  of  all  civil  actions  between  party 
and  party  and  between  the  commonwealth  and  any  of  the  sub- 
jects thereof,  whether  the  same  do  concern  realty,  and  relate  to 
right  of  freehold,  inheritance  or  possession ;  whether  the  same  do 
concern  the  personalty  and  relate  to  any  matter  of  debt,  contract, 
damage  or  personal  injury ;  and  also  mixed  actions  which  do  con- 
cern the  realty  and  personalty  brought  legally  before  the  same 
court  by  appeal,  review,  writ  of  error  or  otherwise;  and  shall 
t-ake  cognizance  of  all  capital  and  other  offenses  and  misdemean- 
ors whatsoever  of  a  public  nature,  tending  either  to  a  breach  of 
the  peace,  or  the  oppression  of  the  subject,  or  raising  of  faction, 
controversy  or  debate,  to  any  manner  of  misgovernment ;  and  of 
every  crime  whatsoever  that  is  against  the  public  good." 

Under  the  act  referred  to  the  court  was  authorized  to  estab- 
lish rules  for  the  conduct  of  its  business,  for  the  admission  of 

(      294      ) 


BENCH  AND  BAR 

attorneys,^  and  the  creation  of  barristers  at  law.  A  subsequent 
act,  passed  in  1784,  gave  the  court  appellate  jurisdiction  in  all 
matters  determined  in  probate  courts,  when  properly  before  it 
for  review,  and  in  1786  questions  of  divorce  and  alimony  were 
directed  to  be  heard  and  determined  by  its  judges.  In  1800  the 
number  of  associates  was  increased  to  six,  and  the  state  was 
divided  into  districts.  In  1805  the  justices  were  reduced  to  four, 
and  so  remained  until  1852,  when  an  additional  justice  was  au- 
thorized. Since  1873  the  court  has  comprised  one  chief  justice 
and  six  associate  justices. 

In  common  with  all  judicial  officers  in  this  commonwealth, 
justices  of  the  Supreme  judicial  court  are  appointed  by  the 
governor,  vrith  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  council,  and  hold 
office  during  good  behavior.  They  are  removable  at  any  time 
"upon  the  address  of  the  general  court."  The  legislature  from 
time  to  time  has  changed  the  jurisdiction  of  the  justices  of  this 
court  when  holding  circuit  terms,  and  in  recent  years  there  has 
been  a  tendency  to  relieve  it  of  many  of  its  old-time  cases  by 
transferring  them  to  the  Superior  court,  and  thus  establishing 
the  highest  tribunal  in  the  state  as  a  court  of  appellate  jurisdic- 
tion only.  The  justices  still  perform  circuit  duties,  yet  the  cases 
presented  chiefly  relate  to  equity-  and  the  dissolution  of  corpo- 
rate bodies,  both  of  Avhich  might  better  be  disposed  of  in  the  in- 

^The  judiciary  act  of  1782  gave  to  the  Supreme  judicial  court  authority  to 
create  barristers  at  law  and  to  regulate  the  admission  of  attorneys.  The  for- 
mer office  was  one  of  great  dignity  and  importance,  and  only  men  "learned  in  the 
law"  were  admitted  to  its  privileges.  No  barristers  were  "called"  after  1789, 
and  in  1806  the  court  adopted  a  rule  to  the  effect  that  "no  attorney  shall  do  the 
business  of  a  counsellor  unless  he  shall  have  been  made  or  admitted  as  such  by 
this  court ;"  and  also,  "all  attorneys  of  this  court  who  have  been  admitted  three 
years  before  the  sitting  of  this  court  shall  be  and  hereb.v  are  made  counsellors 
and  are  entitled  to  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  such  ;"  and  further,  "no  at- 
torney or  counsellor  shall  hereafter  be  admitted  without  a  previous  examina- 
tion." In  1836  the  distinction  between  attorney  and  counsellor  was  abolished. 
John  Worthington.  who  was  one  of  the  most  prominent  characters  in  early  his- 
tory in  what  is  now  Hampden  county,  was  a  barrister  previous  to  1768.  Moses 
Bliss  and  Jonathan  Bliss  also  were  barristers,  but  of  later  date  in  local  annals. 

2A  Court  of  Chancery  was  established  in  the  colony  in  168.-).  and  its  powers 
and  jurisdiction  were  vested  in  the  County  court  magistrates.  The  act  of  1682, 
establishing  judicatories,  provided  for  a  high  Court  of  Chancery  with  power  and 
authority  to  hear  and  determine  all  matters  of  equity  not  relievable  by  common 
law,  the  court  to  be  holden  by  the  governor  or  such  person  as  he  should  appoint 

(      295      ) 


OVB  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

ferior  court.  "INIatters  of  divorce"  were  transferred  in  1887, 
and  jurisdiction  in  capital  cases  was  likewise  transferred  in  1891. 
All  appeals  from  the  judgment  of  the  Superior  court  are  deter- 
mined in  the  Supreme  judicial  court. 

The  Su]ierior  court  of  judicature,  which  passed  out  of  exist- 
ence with  the  adoption  of  the  constitution,  was  an  heirloom  of  the 
colonial  period,  established  under  the  first  charter  and  survived 
the  sweeping  changes  of  the  second.  The  court  was  originally 
created  by  an  act  of  the  colonial  legislature  in  1682,  and  com- 
prised one  chief  justice  and  four  other  justices,  with  power  to 
hear  and  determine  all  plaints,  pleas  and  causes  to  the  same 
extent  as  the  English  courts  of  King's  Bench,  Common  Pleas  and 
Exchequer,  except,  perhaps,  in  the  exercise  of  general  equity 
powers,  which  was  reserved  to  the  governor  and  his  assistants, 
as  an  especial  prerogative,  and  to  the  Chancery  court. 

In  subsequent  years  the  old  Superior  court  was  subjected  to 
many  changes,  but  did  not  lose  its  identity  at  any  time.  As  con- 
stituted under  Dudley  it  was  known  as  the  ' '  Superior  court ' '  and 
comprised  three  judges,  who  were  to  sit  three  times  yearly  in 
Boston.  Under  Andros,  Avho  came  into  the  office  in  1686,  the 
court  was  re-established  under  its  original  name,  with  jurisdic- 
tion in  civil  and  criminal  matters.  Terms  of  court  were  to  be 
held  in  all  the  counties,  the  sittings  in  Hampshire  county  to  be 
held  alternately  at  Springfield  and  Northampton.  The  last  ses- 
sion of  the  court  under  the  charter  was  held  in  1774,  and  during 
the  period  of  the  revolution  every  element  of  government  that 
smacked  of  royalty  was  thrust  aside,  and  the  affairs  of  the  colo- 
nists were  entrusted  to  the  provincial  congress  and  the  commit- 
tees of  safety. 

Second  to  the  Supreme  judicial  court  in  rank  and  jurisdic- 
tion stands  the  Superior  court,  the  most  useful  and  popular 
judicial  body  in  the  commonwealth,  and  the  successor  to  the  old 
court  of  conniion  pleas.     It  was  established  April  5,  1859,  with 

as  chancellor,  assisted  by  eight  or  more  of  thfe  council.  This  act  was  disallowed 
by  the  privy  council,  and  in  fact  the  court  was  very  unpopular  in  the  province, 
the  freemen  claiming  that  the  crown  had  no  right  to  establish  an  equity  court 
In  the  colony. 

(      296      ) 


BENCH  AXD  BAB 

one  chief  justice  and  ten  associates.  The  number  of  associates 
was  increased  to  eleven  in  1875,  to  thirteen  in  1888.  to  fifteen  in 
1892,  and  to  seventeen  in  1898. 

Originally  the  Superior  court  had  only  the  jurisdiction  that 
previously  was  vested  in  the  conniion  pleas,  but  the  legislature  in 
later  years  extended  and  broadened  its  powers  until  it  became 
the  chief  instrumentality  for  the  attainment  and  enforcement  of 
rights  and  the  redress  of  grievances  in  the  history  of  Massachu- 
setts jurisprudence.  In  1887  it  was  given  exclusive  jurisdiction 
"in  all  cases  of  divorce  and  nullity  or  validity  of  marriage;"  in 
1891  was  given  jurisdiction  in  all  capital  cases,  and  in  1893  its 
scope  was  further  extended  to  include  cases  relating  to  telegraph 
and  telephone  wires,  in  matters  relating  to  corporate  powers,  the 
maintenance  and  use  of  public  buildings,  the  control  of  street 
railroads,  etc.,  all  of  which  formerly  were  under  the  supervision 
of  the  Supreme  judicial  court.  Appeals  from  the  district,  police, 
municipal  and  justices  courts  are  determined  in  the  Superior 
court,  and,  in  turn,  appeals  from  the  Superior  court  are  taken  to 
the  Supreme  judicial  court. 

The  Superior  court  traces  its  history  directly  to  the  Court 
of  common  pleas,  and  through  it  indirectly  to  the  old  Inferior 
court  of  common  pleas,  the  latter  having  been  originally  estab- 
lished under  the  name  of  the  Inferior  court  in  1635-6  and  more 
clearly  defined  as  to  powers  and  jurisdiction  in  1639.  Appeals 
lay  from  it  to  the  Court  of  assistants,  and  from  the  latter  to  the 
General  court.  In  1642  it  was  ordered  that  "all  causes  between 
party  and  party  shall  first  be  tried  in  some  inferior  court,"  and, 
accordingly,  nearly  all  causes  were  first  brought  to  issue  in  the 
old  Inferior  court:  hence  the  derivation  of  the  broad  powers  of 
the  present  Superior  court. 

In  1682  the  general  court  passed  "An  act  for  the  holding  of 
courts  of  justice,"  and  established  County  courts  or  Inferior 
courts  of  conniion  pleas,  with  both  civil  and  criminal  sides.  The 
act,  however,  was  "disallowed"  because  of  a  distinction  in  the 
manner  of  appointing  justices  in  the  several  counties,  deeming 
that  it  interfered  Avith  the  prerogative  of  the  general  court.  The 
court  went  into  effect  in  1692.  and  the  act  of  confirmation  perma- 

(      297      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

nently  establishing  it  nndei"  the  name  of  Inferior  court  of  eoni- 
nion  pleas  was  passed  Jnne  27.  1699.  From  that  time  it  was  the 
popular  tribunal  of  the  commonwealth  until  abolished  in  favor 
of  the  Superior  court  in  1859. 

Next  in  inferiority  to  the  Superior  court  are  the  municipal. 
Police  and  District  courts,  with  both  civil  and  criminal  jurisdic- 
tion, and  established  by  the  legislature  from  time  to  time  as  the 
necessities  of  the  several  counties  have  demanded.  These  courts, 
which  virtually  are  alike  in  poAvers  and  jurisdiction,  are  the  out- 
growth of  the  trial  justices  courts  and  the  still  older  courts  of 
justices  of  the  peace,  the  latter  dating  from  the  time  of  the 
colonial  government.^ 

By  an  act  of  the  legislature  passed  May  3,  1850,  the  gover- 
nor, with  the  advice  and  consent  of  the  senate,  was  authorized  to 
appoint  suitable  persons  in  each  county  to  be  trial  justices,  with 
the  same  powers  and  jurisdiction  as  justices  of  the  peace,  and  to 
hold  office  seven  years.  At  the  same  time  the  civil  and  criminal 
jurisdiction  of  justices  of  the  peace  was  taken  away,  and  when 
any  of  them  issued  warrants  the  latter  were  to  be  made  returnable 
before  a  trial  justice.  However,  in  1851,  the  act  of  the  preceding 
year  Avas  repealed  and  the  old-time  authority  of  justices  of  the 
peace  Avas  restored.  In  1852  the  poAvers  of  justices  of  the  peace, 
also  of  justices  of  municipal  and  police  courts,  AA^ere  extended, 
and  in  certain  cases  AA'ere  made  concurrent  AAnth  the  poAvers  of  the 
common  pleas,  ha\'ing  cognizance  of  cases  in  Avhich  the  damages 
claimed  did  not  exceed  $100,  and  haA'ing  authority  to  try  civil 
causes  with  a  jury  of  six  men  Avhen  the  claim  AA-as  not  less  than 
$20,  and  not  more  than  $100. 

This  sj^stem  of  procedure  in  the  inferior  courts  Avas  contin- 
ued until  1858,  Avhen  an  act  of  the  legislature  authorized  the 
gOA'ernor  to  designate  a  suitable  number  of  justices  of  the  peace 
in  the  several  counties  to  try  criminal  cases,  and  in  the  next  year 
a  further  act  declared  the  officers  so  appointed  to  be  knoAA'n  as 

'Courts  of  Justices  of  the  Peace  were  first  provided  for  in  tlie  "Act  establish- 
ing judicatories  and  courts  of  justice  within  the  province."  The  act  was  passed 
Nov.  25,  1692,  was  disallowed  by  the  privy  council  in  169.5  and  was  revived  by 
the  act  of  1697. 

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BENCH  AND  BAR 

trial  justices.  Under  the  act  first  mentioned  Hampden  county 
was  allowed  eight  trial  justices,  chosen  to  suit  the  convenience  of 
the  inhabitants  of  the  county.  In  1876  trial  by  jury  in  civil 
actions  and  other  proceedings  in  municipal,  district  and  justices 
courts  was  abolished,  but  the  aggrieved  party  was  granted  the 
right  to  appeal  to  the  Superior  court  in  special  designated  cases. 

B.y  an  act  passed  in  1877  nearly  all  the  power  which  then 
remained  in  the  old  justices  court  was  swept  away  by  the  legisla- 
tui-e,  and  thenceforth  its  magistrates  were  denied  authority  or 
jurisdiction  in  civil  cases,  or  to  receive  complaints  or  to  issue 
warrants ;  and  this  power  was  vested  in  the  remaining  trial  jus- 
tices, also  in  the  municipal,  district  and  police  courts.  But  at 
length  the  office  even  of  trial  justice,  so  far  at  least  as  concerned 
Hampden  county,  was  merged  in  the  police  and  district  courts 
and  became  virtually  extinct,  and  thereafter  all  justices  of  the 
peace  in  any  tangible  condition  of  authority  were  unknown  in 
the  annals  of  the  law.  The  office  was  descended  from  the  Eng- 
lish office  of  the  same  name,  but  was  far  less  important,  and  in 
this  state  it  existed  under  the  colony,  both  charters  and  the  con- 
stitution. For  more  than  two  centuries  it  was  the  creature  of  the 
statute,  and  at  one  time  was  a  position  of  power  and  importance, 
its  incumbent  being  dignified  with  the  title  of  "squire  ;"  but  with 
the  loss  of  much  of  its  old-time  power  it  also  lost  all  of  its  former 
dignity. 

In  1858  Police  courts  were  granted  concurrent  jurisdiction 
Math  the  common  pleas,  and  in  1876  the  legislature  granted  to 
municipal,  district  and  police  courts  concurrent  jurisdiction  with 
the  Superior  court  in  special  cases.  All  appeals  from  these  in- 
ferior courts  are  taken  to  the  Superior  court. 

A  Police  court  in  the  town  of  Springfield  was  established  by 
the  legislature  March  6,  1850.  In  April,  1874,  the  jurisdiction 
of  the  court  was  extended  to  include  the  towns  of  Wilbraham 
(originally  a  part  of  the  eastern  district)  Agawam,  Hampden 
(created  1878),  Longmeadow  and  AVest  Springfield.  East  Long- 
meadow,  when  made  a  separate  town,  was  added  to  the  district. 

The  Police  court  of  Chicopee  was  established  May  21,  1855. 

The  Police  court  of  Holyoke  was  established  April  8,  1871, 

(      299      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

The  District  court  of  Eastern  Hampden  was  established 
April  29,  1872,  and  included  within  its  jurisdiction  the  towns  of 
Pabner,  Brimfield,  Monson,  Holland,  Wales  and  Wilbraham,  the 
latter  being  transferred  to  the  district  of  the  Springfield  Police 
court  in  187-4.     Courts  in  this  district  are  held  in  Palmer. 

The  District  court  of  Western  Hampden  was  established 
May  6,  1886.  and  included  within  its  jurisdiction  the  towns  of 
Westfield.  Chester,  (rranville,  Southwick,  Russell,  Blandford, 
Tolland  and  jNIontgomery.  Courts  are  held  in  Westfield  and 
Chester. 

Probate  courts,  one  of  which  exists  in  each  county  in  the 
state,  are  courts  of  record  and  their  special  jurisdiction  is  the  care 
and  settlement  of  estates  and  the  guardianship  of  infants.  In 
Massachusetts  this  court  traces  its  origin  to  the  early  colonial 
period, when  all  matters  of  probate  were  settled  in  the  old  County 
court,  established  in  1639  ;  but  the  derivation  of  powers  and  prac- 
tice of  the  Probate  court  in  this  state  is  from  the  Ecclesiastical 
court  of  England,  also  from  the  Court  of  Orphan  Masters,  the 
Prerogative  court  and  the  Court  of  Probates. 

The  County  court  was  established  previous  to  the  incorpora- 
tion of  coimties  in  the  commouAvealth.  and  was  merely  the  old 
Inferior  court  with  a  new  name  and  more  clearly  defined  powers. 
It  retained  its  jurisdiction  in  matters  of  probate  throughout  the 
colonial  period,  except  during  the  presidency  of  Joseph  Dudley 
and  the  governorship  of  Sir  Edmund  Andros.  The  former  first 
assumed  probate  jurisdiction  and  delegated  his  powers  in  some  of 
the  counties  to  judges  of  his  own  appointment.  In  matters  relat- 
ing to  estates  of  more  than  fifty  pounds  value  Andros  assumed 
sole  authority,  but  in  minor  estates  he  too  delegated  powers  to  the 
judges.  After  Andros  was  deposed  the  old  methods  were  re- 
sumed and  wei-e  continued  until  the  union  of  the  colonies.  Under 
the  second  charter  (1692)  probate  affairs  were  placed  in  the 
hands  of  the  governoi-  and  council,  who  claimed  and  exercised  the 
right  to  appoint  lioth  judges  and  registers  of  probate  in  the  sev- 
eral counties.  In  its  i)resent  form,  with  almost  continuous  sit- 
tings, tlio  Prol)ato  court^  att'oi'ds  a  cheap  and  expeditious  medium 

'By  special  disi)ensation  of  the  legislative  power  tlie  Probate  judge  in  each 
county  also   is  judge  of   the  Court   of   Insolvency.     The  offices   are   entirely  dis- 

(      300      ) 


BENCH  AND  BAR 

for  the  cave  and  settlement  of  estates  and  the  guardianship  of 
infants. 

The  old  Court  of  General  Sessions  of  the  peace  was  the  third 
court  established  in  the  colony,  and  was  created  in  1699,  to  be 
held  in  each  county  by  justices  of  the  peace,  who  were  empowered 
to  hear  and  determine  ''all  matters  relating  to  the  conservation 
of  the  peace."'  The  court  was  continued  under  the  constitution 
and  was  not  materially  changed  until  1807,  when  an  act  of  the 
legislature  provided  that  future  sessions  should  be  held  in  Hamp- 
shire county  by  one  chief  justice  and  six  associates,  who  were  to 
act  as  the  General  court  of  sessions  and  not  in  their  minor  capac- 
ity of  justices  of  the  peace.  In  1809  the  jurisdiction  of  the  court 
was  transferred  to  the  Court  of  common  pleas,  but  in  1811  the 
Court  of  sessions  was  revived  and  continued  three  years,  when  it 
again  was  merged  in  the  conunon  pleas.  The  act  of  1814  provid- 
ed for  the  appointment  of  two  persons  in  each  county  to  be  ses- 
sion justices  of  the  Circuit  court  of  common  pleas  in  their  respec- 
tive counties,  ''to  sit  with  the  justices  of  the  Circuit  court  in  the 
administration  of  all  matters  within  their  county  over  which  the 
Court  of  sessions  had  jurisdiction."  From  1814  to  1819  county 
affairs  were  administered  by  the  Circuit  court  of  common  pleas, 
and  in  the  year  last  mentioned  the  Court  of  sessions  was  re-estab- 
lished with  a  chief  justice  and  two  associates  in  each  county. 
The  court  was  continued  in  Hampden  county  until  1828,  when 
the  administration  of  county  affairs  was  placed  in  the  hands  of 
three  county  commissioners,  and  the  old  judicial  body  passed  out 
of  existence. 

This  brief  survey  of  the  courts  of  this  commonwealth,  which 
omits  only  those  that  are  purely  local  in  character,  gives  the  read- 
er some  idea  of  the  machinery  provided  for  the  use  of  the  bench 
and  bar  at  the  time  of  the  creation  of  Hampshire  county  in  1662, 
and  also  at  the  time  of  the  organization  of  Hampden  county,  a 
century  and  a  half  afterward. 

In  the  latter  part  of  1635  a  representation  was  made  to  the 
general  court,  sitting  at  "'New  Towne, "  that  several   friends, 

tinct  in  jurisdiction,  powers,  proceedings  and  practice,  but  have  ttie  same  judge 
and  register.       The  oflBces  were  merged  in  1858. 

(      301      ) 


OL'K  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

neighbors  and  freemen,  "^vith  other  men  of  quality  now  in  Eng:- 
laud, "  are  "resolved  to  transplant  themselves  and  their  estates  to 
the  Ryver  of  Conectieott,  there  to  reside  and  inhabite ;  and  that 
there  may  be.  upon  occasions,  some  causes  of  difference,  and  also 
dyvers  misdemeanors,  which  will  require  a  speedy  redresse." 
Upon  this  presentation  the  general  court  ordered  that  William 
Pynchon,  AYilliam  Phelps  and  others  be  clothed  with  authority 
to  hear  and  determine  in  a  judicial  way  all  causes  of  difference 
arising  in  the  new  colony ;  to  inflict  corporal  punishment  or  im- 
prisonment ;  to  fine,  levy  and  collect  the  same,  "soe  as  shall  be  for 
the  peaceable  and  quiet  ordering  of  the  affairs  of  the  plantation 
for  the  space  of  one  year." 

In  pursuance  of  its  determination  this  devout  band  of  our 
ancestors  made  a  settlement  on  the  site  of  the  city  of  Springfield 
and  there  founded  a  colony  in  the  year  1636.  Frequent  acces- 
sions were  made  to  their  number  and  in  the  course  of  a  few  years 
the  outposts  of  settlement  had  extended  up  and  down  the  valley 
and  westward  into  the  regions  of  Woronoco  or  the  AVest  Fields — 
Westfield. 

Thus  was  founded  in  an  unpretentious  yet  effective  way  the 
crude  judicial  system  upon  which  was  built  the  more  substantial 
structure  of  later  years.  William  Pynchon  administered  justice, 
not  the  law,  for  the  space  of  a  dozen  years  and  then  fell  into  dis- 
repute with  the  general  court  through  the  authorship  of  a  book 
which  was  declared  to  promote  heretical  doctrines  in  the  colony. 
The  book  itself  was  condemned  and  ordered  burned  and  the 
author  was  brought  to  bar  to  answer  grave  charges  of  disseminat- 
ing false  and  dangerous  theories. 

The  accused  magistrate  appeared  in  the  council  in  1651. 
admitted  the  authorship  of  the  book,  and  being  permitted  to 
confer  with  the  elders  present,  he  persuaded  them  that  he  was 
guiltless  of  wrong  intent  (although  not  a  lawyer  himself  Mr. 
Pynchon  possessed  the  attributes  of  a  successful  advocate)  and 
removed  from  their  minds  the  worst  construction  they  had  placed 
upon  his  work :  and  with  such  logic  did  he  prevail  upon  the  coun- 
cil that  he  was  permitted  to  depart  unpunished,  though  he  was 
shorn  of  his  judicial  power  in  the  plantation  and  was  succeeded 
by  his  son-in-law.  Henry  Smith,  of  Springfield. 

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BENCH  AND  BAR 

In  a  primitive  way  the  pioneers  of  the  Connecticut  valley 
maintained  courts  of  justice  and  upheld  the  dignity  of  the  law 
through  the  early  colonial  period,  though  neither  record  nor  tra- 
dition furnishes  any  reliable  evidence  that  more  than  informal 
courts  were  established,  and  there  is  no  record  by  which  we  may 
discover  whether  any  barristers  were  present  at  court  sittings 
previous  to  the  creation  of  Hampshire  county  in  1662. 

The  history  of  the  judiciary  in  what  is  now  Hampden  county 
dates  from  the  time  of  William  Pynchon,  yet  there  was  no  resi- 
dent bar  until  after  the  second  charter  in  1692,  the  year  of  the 
union  of  the  colonies.  Hampshire  county,  the  original  formal 
jurisdiction  which  included  within  its  limits  the  entire  western 
region  of  Massachusetts,  was  created  May  7,  1662,  the  act  provid- 
ing that  Springfield,  Northampton  and  Hadley  should  form  a 
new  county,  and  that  courts  should  be  held  alternately  in  Spring- 
field and  Northampton.  Three  years  later  it  was  ordered  that 
county  courts  "be  held  and  attested"  by  Capt.  John  Pynchon, 
one  of  the  magistrates,  and  that  Henry  Clark,  Lieut.  William 
Clarke,  Eleazer  Holyoke  and  Lieut.  Samuel  Smith  should  assist 
Captain  Pynchon  in  "keeping  the  county  courts." 

According  to  established  records,  the  first  court  in  Spring- 
field was  held  March  27,  1660,  under  the  first  charter,  and  that 
august  body  assembled  beneath  the  hospitable  roof  of  William 
Pynchon.  The  act  creating  Hampshire  county  declared  Spring- 
field to  be  the  shire  town,  and  thus  it  continued  until  1792,  when 
the  seat  of  justice  was  removed  to  Northampton.  From  that  time 
until  183  2,  when  Hampden  county  was  created,  Springfield  was 
only  a  center  of  trade  in  an  agricultural  region,  but  it  neverthe- 
less wa-s  a  thriving  village  with  constantly  increasing  interests, 
and  eventually  was  destined  to  outstrip  all  rivals  and  take  rank 
with  the  important  cities  of  New  England. 

In  1826  George  Bliss,  of  the  old  Hampden  bar,  prepared  a 
list  of  lawyers  of  the  mother  county  from  1786  to  1826  :  and  inas- 
much as  the  list  contains  the  names  of  many  lawyers  who  were 
prominent  in  the  annals  of  the  Hampden  bar  in  later  years,  the 
same  is  reproduced  here  as  a  valuable  historical  roster. 

(      303      ) 


OLE  COrXTY  AXD  ITS  PEOPLE 

''A  list  of  the  attorneys  and  counsellors,  either  admitted  to 
the  bar  in  the  county  of  Hampshire  or  practicing  in  that  county 
from  1786  ot  1826 :  Elihu  Lyman,  ]\Joses  Bliss,  Simeon  Strong, 
Theodore  Sedgwick,  Caleb  Strong.  Justin  Ely,  John  Phelps,  Sam- 
uel FoAvler,  AVilliam  Billings,  John  Chester  Williams,  Abner  Mor- 
gan, Edward  "Walker,  John  Chandler  Williams,  Alexander  Wol- 
cott,  Samuel  Lyman,  Pliny  ]\Iirriek,  Samuel  Hinckeley,  John 
Hooker,  Ephraim  Williams,  John  Barrett,  Samuel  Mather, 
George  Bliss,  Joseph  Lyman,  John  Taylor,  William  Coleman, 
Jonathan  E.  Porter.  Simeon  Strong,  William  Ely,  John  Phelps, 
Eli  P.  Ashmun,  Jonathan  Levitt.  Elijah  Paine,  Stephen  Pynchon, 
John  Ingersoll.  Solomon  Stoddard.  AYilliam  M.  Bliss,  Richard  E. 
Newcomb,  Jonathan  Grout,  Hezekiali  W.  Strong,  Charles  P. 
Phelps,  Samuel  Lathrop,  Elijah  Bates,  Solomon  Vose,  Jonathan 
Dwight,  jr.,  Jothan  Cushman,  Benjamin  Parsons,  Edward  Eup- 
ham,  Jonathan  Woodbridge,  Joseph  Proctor,  Samuel  Dickinson, 
Phineas  Ashmun,  Joseph  Bridgman,  Sylvester  Maxwell,  William 
Billings,  Elijah  H.  ]Mills.  Pliny  Arms,  Elijah  Alvord.  Samuel  C. 
Allen,  Theodore  Strong,  Edmund  DAvight,  Oliver  B.  Morris, 
Henry  Barnard,  Giles  E.  Kellogg.  Charles  Shepard.  John  Nevers, 
James  M.  Cooley.  Solomon  Strong.  Alvin  Coe,  Noah  D.  Mattoon, 
Isaac  C.  Bates.  Jonathan  H.  Lyman.  John  M.  Gannett.  Lewis 
Strong,  Alanson  Knox,  Asahel  Wright.  Mark  Doolittle,  Samuel 
Orne,  Hooker  Leavitt.  Samuel  Howe,  Phineas  Blair,  Samuel  Cut- 
ting, Isaac  ]M.  Barber,  Laban  Marcy,  Israel  Billings.  Deodatus 
Button.  Apollos  Cushman.  Rodolphus  Dickinson.  Edward  Bliss, 
Daniel  Shearer,  Calvin  Pepper,  AYilliam  Blair.  George  H.  Hen- 
shaAV,  James  Stebbins,  William  Ward.  George  Grennell,  David 
Willard,  Horace  W.  Taft.  John  Drury.  Franklin  Ripley.  Thomas 
Power,  Augustus  Collins,  Dyer  Bancroft,  Warren  A.  Field,  Pat- 
rick Boise,  John  Mills,  John  Hooker,  jr.,  William  Knight,  John 
Howard,  Benjamin  Day.  Joshua  X.  Upham.  George  Bliss,  jr., 
Justice  AA'illard,  Charles  F.  Bates,  Solomon  Lathrop,  William 
Bowdoin,  Hophni  Judd,  Ithamar  Conkey,  Norman  Smith.  James 
Fowler,  Elisha  Hubbai-d,  Eli  B.  Hamilton.  Daniel  Wells.  Samuel 
AYells,  Alfred  Stearns.  Caleb  Rice.  Jonathan  A.  Saxton.  Freder- 
ick A.  Packard,  Lucius  Boltwood,  Jonathan  Eastman.  Waldo 

(      304      ) 


BENCH  AND  BAR 

Fliut,  Charles  E.  Forbes,  Cyrus  Joy,  David  Brigham,  Aarou 
Anns,  Joseph  P.  Allen,  Benjamin  Brainard,  Jonathan  Ilartwell, 
David  A.  Ciregg,  Epaphres  Clark,  Benjamin  Mills,  Timothy  C. 
Cooley,  John  B.  Cooley,  Asa  Olmstead,  Horace  Smith,  Joshua 
Levitt,  JNlason  Shaw,  Elisha  Mack,  John  H.  Ashmun,  Samuel  F. 
Lyman,  Justin  W.  Clark,  Horatio  Byington,  Emory  Washburn, 
Horatio  G.  Newcomb,  William  B.  Calhoun,  Josiah  Hooker,  Will- 
iam Bliss,  Erasmus  Noreross,  Daniel  N.  Deury.  ^Nlyron  Lawrence, 
James  W.  Crooks,  Richard  E.  Morris,  Dan  Parrish,  Homer  Bart- 
lett,  Osmyn  Baker,  Elijah  AVilliams,  Francis  B.  Stebbins,  Norman 
T.  Leonard,  Reuben  A.  Chapman,  George  Ashmun,  Henry  Chap- 
man, Stephen  Emory,  Edward  Dickinson,  Andrew  A.  Locke." 

While  the  foregoing  list  purports  to  be  and  in  fact  is  a  regis- 
ter of  the  Hampshire  bar  for  the  time  indicated,  it  also  represents 
the  strength  of  the  Hampden  bar  during  the  same  period,  for  at 
all  times  between  the  years  1786  and  1826  the  region  now  com- 
prising Hampden  county  was  as  well  peopled  and  as  fully  devel- 
oped as  any  portion  of  the  mother  county ;  and  while  Springfield 
was  deprived  of  the  honor  of  being  even  a  half-shire  town  be- 
tAA'een  1792  and  1812,  it  nevertheless  was  the  most  important  com- 
mercial center  in  the  Connecticut  valley  during  that  brief  period. 

Hampden  county  was  created  by  an  act  of  the  legislature, 
passed  February  25,  1812,  the  act  to  take  effect  August  1st,  fol- 
lowing. Thus  a  new  and  important  civil  division  of  the  state  was 
brought  into  existence,  and  it  has  grown  into  one  of  the  most 
productive  and  wealthy  counties  of  New  England  of  the  present 
time.  It  has  sent  to  the  legislative  halls  of  the  commonwealth 
and  to  the  congress  of  the  United  States  its  ablest  statesmen  ;  men 
of  character,  men  of  worth,  men  whose  mental  qualities  have 
made  them  famous  both  in  state  and  national  history.  And  be  it 
said  to  their  enduring  memory  and  honor,  that  by  far  the  greater 
number  of  these  worthy  representatives  have  been  taken  from  the 
ranks  of  the  legal  profession. 

Although  thefirst  session  of  the  court  in  Springfield  was  held 
as  early  as  1660  more  than  sixty  years  passed  before  a  court  house 
Avas  provided, thefirsthavingbeen  erected  in  1722-3  at  the  expense 
of  the  town  of  Springfield.     The  second  court  house  was  built  in 

20-1  (      305      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

1821,  and  tlie  third,  the  present  Hampden  connty  court  house,  in 
1870-71.  The  latter  was  dedicated  with  formal  ceremonies,  April 
28,  1874,  on  which  occasion  AVilliam  G.  Bates  delivered  an  ex- 
haustive historical  address  on  the  judiciary  and  the  bar  of  the 
county. 

Hampden  county  as  a  civil  division  of  Massachusetts  is  near- 
ly four  score  and  ten  years  old,  and  during  that  comparatively 
brief  period  its  record  of  progress  has  been  remarkable ;  but  in  no 
branch  of  life  in  the  region  has  there  been  developed  greater 
ability,  mental  and  moral  worth  and  integi'ity  of  character,  than 
in  the  ranks  of  the  legal  profession.  In  the  past  history  of  the 
Hampden  bar  there  has  been  little  to  condemn  and  much  to  com- 
mend, and  it  is  doubtful  if  any  county  in  all  this  grand  common- 
wealth can  furnish  a  professional  record  more  clear  and  bright  or 
one  less  tarnished  with  unworthy  practices. 

As  an  evidence  of  the  regard  in  which  the  Hampden  bar  is 
held  in  legal  circles  in  the  state  we  may  quote  the  words  of  one  of 
the  justices  of  the  Superior  court  residing  in  the  eastern  part  of 
Massachusetts,  to  the  effect  that  during  his  experience  on  the 
bench  he  found  that  "cases  were  tried  better  and  closer  in  Hamp- 
den county  than  in  any  other  county  in  the  state. ' ' 

77(6  Bench.— At  the  time  of  the  creation  of  Hampden  county 
the  old  Superior  court  of  judicature  had  passed  out  of  existence 
and  in  its  place  there  had  been  established  the  Supreme  judicial 
court.  The  only  representative  of  the  county  bar  who  attained  to 
the  dignity  of  the  chief  justiceship  of  this  court  was  Keuben  At- 
water  Chapman,  who  was  appointed  to  that  high  office  in  1868 
and  served  until  his  death  in  1873. 

Chief  Justice  Chapman  Avas  a  native  of  Hampden  county, 
born  in  the  town  of  Russell  in  1801.  In  that  remote  part  of  the 
county,  where  the  lands  then  were  new  and  undeveloped,  he  had 
little  opportunity  to  gain  an  education  in  the  schools,  for  his 
parents,  like  nearly  all  other  settlers,  were  poor  and  dependent 
on  their  own  exertions  to  provide  even  the  necessaries  of  domestic 
life.  Notwithstanding  this  the  young  man  not  only  did  succeed 
in  acquiring  knowledge  himself,  but  at  the  age  of  seventeen  he 
taught  the  children  of  the  neighboi-hood  in  the  district  school. 

(      306      ) 


Chief  Justice  Reuben  Atwater  Chapman 
Born  in  Russell.  ISept.  20, 1801.    Died  in  Switzerland,  June  28, 1873 


OLE  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

Afterward  he  found  employment  as  clerk  in  a  store,  and  having 
joined  a  debating  society  in  the  rnral  village,  his  native  oratorical 
and  argnnientative  abilities  tirst  found  root  and  began  to  develop, 
and  he  soon  became  known  as  one  of  the  most  promising  young 
men  in  the  vicinity.  When  he  had  saved  a  little  money  he  began 
the  study  of  law  under  the  instiuction  of  Gen.  Alanson  Knox,  of 
Blandford,  and  d\iriiig  the  course  of  his  study  period  he  gained 
an  excellent  reputation  through  his  success  in  justice  court  trials. 
In  1825  he  was  admitted  to  practice  and  soon  afterward  opened 
an  office  in  Westfield.  He  removed  to  INlonson  in  1827.  to  Ware 
in  1829,  and  in  the  next  year  settled  in  Springfield  and  l^ecame 
law  partner  with  (leorge  Ashnuni,  the  famed  legal  giant  of  the  old 
bar.  In  later  years  Mr.  Chapman  was  associated  with  other 
prominent  lawyers,  and  be  continued  to  grow  in  professional 
strength  until  he  became  one  of  the  leaders  of  the  bar.  But 
throughout  this  long  period  of  successful  practice  he  kept  up  his 
study  of  mathematics  and  even  essayed  to  master  the  classics.  In 
this,  too,  he  was  successful  and  eventually  became  proficient  in 
French  and  German. 

In  1860  INIr.  Chapman  was  appointed  to  a  seat  on  the  bench 
of  the  Supreme  judicial  court  and  in  1868  he  became  its  chief 
justice,  succeeding  in  office  George  Tyler  Bigelow. 

John  AVells  was  justice  of  the  Supreme  court  of  judicature 
from  1866  until  the  year  of  his  death,  1875.  He  was  a  graduate 
of  Williams  college,  class  of  1838,  and  its  valedictorian,  from 
"which  we  may  correctly  infer  that  he  was  as  proficient  in  his  colle- 
giate studies  as  he  was  distinguished  in  later  professional  life. 
If  local  tradition  be  true,  Judge  Wells  possessed  strong  political 
aspirations,  and  as  his  social  and  mental  qualities  were  propor- 
tionate with  his  legal  strength,  his  desires  generally  were  gratified 
until  he  reached  the  goal  of  his  ambition  — a  seat  upon  the  bench 
of  the  highest  court  in  the  state. 

After  his  graduation  at  Williams,  Judge  Wells  i-ead  law  with 
his  uncle,  Daniel  Wells,  and  afterwards  finished  his  early  legal 
course  in  TTarvard  law  school.  He  then  became  professionally 
associated  with  George  ]\I.  Stearns — the  mighty  Stearns  of  Chico- 
pee — and  still  later  he  Avas  law  partner  with   Judge   Soule  of 

(      308      ) 


BENCH  AND  BAR 

Springfield.  lie  early  entered  the  political  field  and  in  1849-51 
and  again  in  1857,  was  a  member  of  the  lower  house  of  the  gen- 
eral conrt.  In  1858  he  Avas  appointed  judge  of  the  Court  of  pro- 
bate and  insolvency.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  national  republi- 
can convention  that  nominated  JNIr.  Lincoln  in  1860,  and  was  a 
Lincoln  elector  in  1864.  In  1866  he  received  his  greatest  political 
reward  in  an  appointment  to  the  bench  of  the  Supreme  judicial 
court,  the  appointee  of  his  old-time  personal  friend.  Gov.  Alexan- 
der H.  Bullock. 

Judge  Augustus  Lord  Soule,  justice  of  the  Supreme  judicial 
Court  from  1877  to  1881,  when  he  resigned,  was  third  in  the  suc- 
cession of  Hami)den  county's  contribution  to  the  bench  of  the 
highest  court.  Judge  Soule  is  remembered  as  one  of  the  most 
scholarly  lawyers  of  the  Hampden  bar,  and  withal,  one  of  the 
leading  corporation  lawyers  of  New  England.  He  also  won  dis- 
tinction through  his  remarkable  success  in  trying  patent  cases. 
His  indeed  was  a  judicial  mind^,  and  all  his  utterances,  both  as 
lawyer  and  judge,  always  were  logical  and  sound. 

Judge  Soule  was  born  in  Exeter,  N.  H.,  the  son  of  Kiehard 
Soule,  who  for  many  years  was  principal  of  Phillips  Exeter  acad- 
emy. In  this  famous  school  Judge  Soule  laid  the  foundation  foi- 
his  splendid  legal  education,  but  he  also  was  a  graduate  of  Har- 
vard college,  class  of  '46.  He  was  admitted  to  the  bar  in  Spring- 
field in  1849  and  began  his  professional  career  in  Chicopee.  He 
soon  returned  to  Springfield,  where  he  was  partner,  first  with 
Timothy  G.  Pelton,  later  with  John  Wells,  and  finally  with 
Edward  H.  Lathrop.     Judge  Soule  died  in  August,  1887. 

Judge  Marcus  Perrin  Knowlton,  present  justice  of  the  Su- 
preme judicial  court  and  Hampden's  latest  representative  in  that 
high  office,  is  a  native  of  the  county,  born  in  Wilbraham,  Feb- 
ruary 3,  1839,  the  son  of  INIerrick  and  Patima  (Perrin)  Knowlton. 
He  was  educated  in  the  old  Monson  academy  and  also  in  Yale 
■college,  where  he  was  graduated.  He  then  began  teaching  in  the 
union  school  in  Norwalk,  Conn.,  but  having  determined  to  enter 
the  law  he  began  a  course  of  study  with  James  G.Allen  of  Palmer, 
Later  on  he  was  a  student  in  the  office  of  John  Wells  and 
Judge  Soule  in  Springfield,  and  in  1862  he  came  to  the  bar. 

(      309      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

From  that  time  until  his  appointment  to  the  bench  he  was  en- 
gaged in  active  and  successful  practice,  and  incidentally  was  a 
factor  in  Springfield  politics.  In  1878  he  was  a  representative 
from  Springfield  in  the  house  and  in  1880  was  in  the  senate.  In 
1881  he  was  appointed  a  justice  of  the  Superior  court,  serving  in 
that  capacity  until  1887,  when  he  was  elevated  to  a  seat  on  the 
bench  of  the  Supreme  judicial  court.  This  position  he  still 
holds. 

The  Court  of  Common  Pleas  was  established  in  1820  and  was 
abolished  in  1859.  During  the  period  of  its  history  there  was 
appointed  to  the  bench  of  this  court,  two  representatives  of  the 
Hampden  county  bar. 

Judge  David  Cummins  was  appointed  to  the  bench  in  1828, 
served  until  1844,  when  he  resigned,  and  died  in  1855.  Of  the 
personal  characteristics  and  professional  life  of  Judge  Cummins, 
little  is  now  known  beyond  the  meagre  record  of  his  judicial  ser- 
vice. He  lived  on  Chestnut  street  in  Springfield  and  some  men- 
tion is  made  of  him  and  his  dwelling  place  in  Mrs.  Warner's 
history  of  that  noted  thoroughfare. 

Judge  Henry  Morris  began  his  judicial  career  on  the  bench 
of  the  Common  Pleas  in  1854,  four  years  before  the  court  passed 
out  of  existence.  On  retiring  from  the  bench  he  resumed  law 
practice  but  gradually  drifted  into  industrial  enterprises  and  was 
afterward  an  important  factor  in  the  development  of  Spring- 
field's manufacturing  resources. 

Henry  Morris  was  born  in  Springfield  in  1814.  and  was  the 
eldest  son  of  Judge  Oliver  B.  Morris.  He  prepared  for  college 
in  Monson  academy  and  was  graduated  at  Amherst  in  1832.  He 
also  Avas  a  student  in  Cambridge  law  school,  and  was  admitted  to 
practice  in  1835.  His  subsequent  professional  career  was  a  rec- 
ord of  continuous  success,  as  his  knowledge  of  law  was  deep  and 
he  was  generally  known  as  a  close  student,  a  safe  counsellor,  a 
thoroughly  honest  lawyer  and  an  upright  citizen.  Several  times 
he  was  chairman  of  the  Springfield  board  of  selectmen,  and  was 
president  of  the  first  common  council  of  that  city.  In  1854  he 
was  elected  to  congress  by  the  American  party,  but  before  taking 
a  seat  in  the  federal  legislature  he  was  appointed  to  the  bench  of 

(      310      ) 


BENCH  AND  BAR 

the  Common  Pleas.  He  thereupon  resigned  the  congressional 
office  and  at  once  assumed  the  judicial  function.  He  served  four 
years,  and  when  the  court  was  dissolved  he  returned  to  the  law,  as 
has  been  mentioned.     Judge  Morris  died  in  188S. 

The  Superior  court  of  the  commonwealth  of  Massachusetts 
was  established  in  1859  by  act  of  the  general  court,  and  has  con- 
tinued to  the  present  time.  Hampden  county  has  furnished  five 
incumbents  of  the  bench  of  this  court :  Justices  Henry  Vose, 
appointed  in  1859  and  died  in  1869 ;  Marcus  Perrin  Knowlton, 
appointed  in  1881  and  advanced  to  the  Supreme  judicial  court  in 
1887 ;  Justin  Dewey,  appointed  from  Berkshire  county  in  1886, 
removed  thence  to  Springfield,  and  now  deceased ;  James  Robert 
Dunbar,  appointed  in  1888,  resigned,  and  now  of  the  Suffolk  bar ; 
and  Elisha  Burr  Maynard,  appointed  in  1891  and  still  in  office. 

Henry  Vose,  one  of  the  first  members  of  the  bench  of  the 
Superior  court  after  it  was  established,  was  born  in  Charlestown, 
May  21,  1817,  and  was  educated  in  Concord  academy  and  Har- 
vard college,  graduating  at  the  latter  institution  in  1837.  After 
leaving  college  he  was  private  tutor  in  a  familj^  in  the  w^estern 
part  of  New  York,  and  still  later  he  studied  law  in  Greenfield 
with  George  T.  Davis,  and  also  in  Springfield  with  Chapman  & 
Ashmun.  He  came  to  the  bar  in  1841  and  practiced  in  Hampden 
county  until  1859  when  he  was  appointed  justice  of  the  Superior 
court  and  removed  to  Boston.  In  1857  and  1858  he  represented 
Springfield  in  the  lower  house  of  the  general  court.  For  many 
year  Judge  Vose  was  a  prominent  figure  in  Springfield  legal  and 
political  circles  and  was  highly  respected  throughout  the  county. 
He  died  in  Boston,  January  17,  1869. 

Justin  Dewey  was  one  of  Berkshire's  contributions  to  the 
bench  of  the  Superior  court,  yet  from  the  time  of  his  appoint- 
ment until  his  death  in  1900  he  was  a  resident  of  Springfield. 
He  was  bom  in  Alford,  June  12,  1836,  and  was  a  graduate  of 
Williams  college.  He  read  law  in  Great  Barrington  with  In- 
crease Sumner  and  was  admitted  to  the  Berkshire  bar  in  1860. 
He  was  in  the  lower  house  of  the  legislature  in  1862  and  again  in 
1877,  and  was  in  the  senate  in  1879.  Yet  Judge  Dewey  never 
had  a  taste  for  politics,  preferring  to  devote  his  energies  to  the 

(      311      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

practice  of  law.     He  was  appointed  justice  of  the  Superior  court 
in  1886  and  continued  in  office  until  his  death. 

James  Kobert  Dunbar,  who  was  appointed  to  the  bencli  in 
1888,  and  who,  although  now  retired  from  judicial  office,  still  re- 
sides in  the  eastern  part  of  the  state,  was  born  in  Pittsfield, 
December  23,  1847,  and  graduated  at  Williams  college  in  1871. 
His  early  legal  education  was  acquired  in  Harvard  law  school  and 
in  the  office  of  Milton  B.  AAliitney.  of  Westfield,  and  he  came  to 
the  bar  in  Springfield  in  1847.  He  was  active  in  profes,sional 
circles  and  was  a  successful  lawyer ;  and  he  also  was  a  somewhat 
prominent  factor  in  Hampden  politics,  representing  the  county  in 
the  senate  in  1885  and  1886. 

Elisha  Burr  Maynard,  present  justice  of  the  Superior  court, 
and  a  lifelong  resident  of  this  county,  was  born  in  Wilbraham, 
November  21,  1842.  the  son  of  Walter  and  Hannah  (Burr)  May- 
nard. He  Avas  educated  in  the  public  schools  and  also  in  Dart- 
mouth college,  graduating  in  1867.  He  read  law  Avith  George  M. 
Stearns  and  Marcus  P.  Knowlton  and  came  to  the  bar  in  1868. 
From  that  time  Judge  Maynard  has  been  a  citizen  of  Springfield 
and  in  many  ways  has  been  identified  with  the  best  interests  and 
history  of  the  city.  In  1879  he  was  a  member  of  the  lower  house 
of  the  general  court,  and  in  1887  and  1888  was  mayor  of  Spring- 
field. He  was  appointed  to  the  bench  of  the  Superior  court  in 
1891  and  still  is  in  office. 

Having  thus  referred  to  the  organization  of  the  courts  and 
having  recalled  something  of  the  lives  and  character  of  the  magis- 
trates who  have  adorned  the  bench,  it  is  proper  that  there  be 
made  some  brief  record  of  the  laymen  of  the  profession  in  Hamp- 
den county,  and  particularly  the  members  of  the  old  bar  who  no 
longer  are  living,  whose  life  work  is  closed.  For  more  than  three- 
quarters  of  a  century  the  county  has  been  noted  for  the  strength 
of  its  bar  and  among  the  vast  number  of  practitioners  who  have 
honored  the  ])rofession  during  that  period  there  have  been  found 
some  of  the  brightest  legal  minds  in  this  commonwealth.  A  pro- 
per tribute  to  the  memory  of  all  of  them  would  require  a  volume, 
therefore  in  this  brief  chapter  we  must  be  content  with  the  selec- 
tion of  a  few  of  the  more  distinguished  lawj^ers,  those  who  at- 

(      312      ) 


BEWCH  AM)  BAR 

tained  a  hiuh  standing  in  [)i'()fes.si()nal  life,  or  wlio.  having  politi- 
cal anil)ition  gratified  at  the  polls,  won  fame  in  the  legislativ*? 
halls  hoth  of  the  state  and  the  nation. 

Rcnihtisce)iccs  of  the  Old  i^(/r.  — Previous  to  about  the  begin- 
ning of  the  nineteenth  century  the  practice  in  the  highest  court 
of  the  state  was  environed  by  the  justices  of  that  august  body 
with  much  ceremony  and  l)ecoming  dignity,  and  the  laymen  of 
the  law  were  invested  with  the  title  of  barrister.  In  1768  there 
were  only  twenty-five  of  these  in  the  entire  province,  and  one- 
John  Worthington— had  a  residence  in  Springfield.  Subse- 
quently and  previous  to  1789  these  worthy  lights  of  the  profes- 
sion were  "called"  by  the  court  to  be  barristers,  viz. :  JNIoses  Bliss 
and  Jonathan  Bliss  of  Springfield. 

In  1812,  the  year  in  which  Hampden  county  Avas  created,  the 
"attornies  of  the  Supreme  judicial  court"  in  practice  in  the 
towns  of  the  county  were  as  follows :  Alanson  Knox,  Blandf ord ; 
Abner  Morgan,  Stephen  Pynchon,  Brimfield;  Asahel  Wright, 
Chester :  John  Phelps,  (IranAnlle ;  George  Bliss,  William  Ely. 
Jonathan  Dwight,  jr.,  Edmund  Dwight,  Oliver  B.  Morris,  Samuel 
Orne.  Springfield;  John  Ingersoll,  Elijah  Bates,  William  Blair, 
Westfield :  Samuel  Lathrop,  West  Springfield.  The  "attornies" 
of  the  Court  of  common  pleas  then  in  practice  in  the  county  were 
James  M.  Cooley,  Granville;  Deodatus  Button,  Monson :  James 
Stebbins,  Palmer:  p]dmund  Bliss,  Springfield. 

John  Worthington,  who  was  more  commonly  known  in  early 
local  history  as  Colonel  Worthington,  Avas  a  native  of  Springfield, 
born  1719.  He  graduated  at  Yale  in  1740  and  began  the  practice 
of  law  in  the  shire  town  of  Hampshire  county  in  1744.  For 
about  thirty  years  afterward  he  was  one  of  the  most  influential 
citizens  of  Springfield  and  even  was  looked  upon  as  the  leader  of 
the  people  in  his  time.  When  the  courts  were  suspended  during 
the  revolution  he  retired  from  practice,  yet  he  was  afterward  a 
conspicuous  figure  in  public  affairs,  with  decided  leanings  toward 
toryism  during  the  war.  He  was  a  man  of  fine  personal  appear- 
ance and  his  manner  always  was  courteous  and  dignified.  His 
library  of  law  books  was  the  largest  and  best  in  the  county  at  the 
time.  Colonel  Worthington  was  in  the  lower  house  of  the  general 
court  in  1748.  '62  and  '73.     He  died  in  1800. 

(      313      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

Jonathan  Bliss,  barrister,  of  Springfield,  was  for  several 
years  an  honored  member  of  the  legal  profession  in  the  county, 
and  Avliile  he  was  a  lawj^er  of  understanding  he  appears  not  to 
have  been  especially  active  in  political  affairs.  He  was  educated 
in  Cambridge  and  read  law  with  Judge  Trowbridge.  He  began 
practice  in  Springfield  in  1764,  but  at  the  outbreak  of  the  revolu- 
tion he  left  the  country  and  returned  to  England.  An  unauthen- 
ticated  narrative  says  Mr.  Bliss  returned  to  Springfield  in  1791 
and  married  a  daughter  of  Colonel  Worthington, 

George  Bliss  is  to  be  early  and  prominently  mentioned 
among  the  conspicuous  figures  of  the  old  bar.  From  the  fact  that 
he  developed  and  brought  an  unusually  large  number  of  young 
men  into  the  ranks  of  the  profession,  he  became  known  by  the 
title  of  "Master  George."  He  was  a  lawyer  of  many  peculiari- 
ties, yet  withal,  was  possessed  of  good  sound  sense  and  was  a  man 
of  broad  understanding,  professionally  and  otherwise.  He  had 
hoped  for  an  appointment  to  the  Common  Pleas  bench  and  being 
disappointed  it  is  said  that  he  never  would  consent  to  practice  in 
that  court.  Mr.  Bliss  came  to  the  bar  in  1784  and  died  in  1830, 
at  the  age  of  sixty-five  years.  He  was  born  in  1765.  George 
Bliss,  jr.,  of  the  Springfield  bar  in  later  years,  was  a  son  of  "Mas- 
ter" George  Bliss. 

Samuel  Lathrop,  fourth  son  of  Kev.  Joseph  Lathrop,  was 
born  in  West  Springfield  in  1771,  and  died  in  1846.  He  was  a 
graduate  of  Yale  college  in  1792,  and  soon  afterward  entered  the 
profession  in  which  he  acquired  a  standing  of  prominence.  He 
was  ten  years  in  the  state  senate,  and  president  of  that  body  in 
1819  and  1820.  He  was  in  the  lower  house  of  the  federal  con- 
gress from  1818  to  1824,  and  once  was  a  candidate  for  the  gover- 
norship of  Massachusetts.  During  the  latter  part  of  his  life  Mr. 
Lathrop  engaged  chiefly  in  agricultural  pursuits. 

Isaac  C.  Bates  is  remembered  as  one  of  the  most  scholarly 
and  polished  orators  of  the  bar  in  his  time,  and  had  not  his  tastes 
led  him  to  devote  much  attention  to  agricultural  pursuits  he  un- 
doubtedly would  have  stood  at  the  head  of  his  profession  in  West- 
ern Massachusetts.  However,  he  seemed  naturally  to  shrink  from 
the  bitter  legal  contest,  yet  when  once  thoroughly  interested  in  a 

(      314      ) 


(ieorge  Asliinun 
A  leader  of  the  old  Hampden  bar 


Oil:  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

case  his  latent  power  became  apparent  and  he  stood  almost  peer- 
less as  an  advocate.  jNlr.  Bates  was  educated  in  Yale  college  and 
was  admitted  to  practice  in  the  Supreme  court  in  1807.  He 
served  several  tiTiiis  in  congress,  and  in  18^:1-44  was  in  the  United 
States  senate.  On  the  occasion  of  his  death  his  eulogist  was  Dan- 
iel Webster,  his  friend  and  colleague. 

George  Ashniuii  was  for  many  years  a  leading  member  of  the 
Hampden  bar,  yet  his  professional  career  was  begun  in  Hamp- 
shire county.  He  was  graduated  at  Yale  college  in  1823,  and  was 
admitted  to  the  bar  at  Northampton  in  1830.  In  the  course  of  a 
few  years  he  removed  to  Springfield  and  afterward,  until  his 
death  in  1870,  he  was  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  figures  in 
Hampden  professional  and  political  circles.  He  spent  many 
years  in  congress,  in  the  house  of  representatives,  and  even  when 
not  in  public  life  his  love  of  politics  and  his  admiration  of  the 
qualities  of  leading  statesmen,  led  him  to  maintain  a  residence  in 
Washington.  AA^hen  in  active  practice  at  the  bar  Mr.  Ashmun 
ranked  with  the  ablest  lawyers  in  this  state.  He  was  well  edu- 
cated, too,  for  professional  life,  and  in  fact  came  from  what 
might  properly  be  called  a  legal  family.  His  father  was  Eli  P. 
Ashmun,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  bar  of  Hampshire  county,  and 
his  brother  was  Prof.  John  Hooker  Ashmun  of  Northampton, 
each  being  a  distinguished  lawyer  in  his  time. 

Alanson  Knox,  more  frequently  known  by  reason  of  his  con- 
nection with  the  state  militia  as  General  Knox,  came  to  the  bar  in 
1810,  and  for  many  years  lived  and  practiced  in  Blandford,  his 
native  town,  and  in  which  his  father,  Elijah  Knox,  and  also  his 
grandfather.  AVilliam  Knox,  were  pioneers.  General  Knox  was 
born  in  1785.  He  is  remembered  as  a  good  la"wyer  of  the  old 
school,  and  his  military  title  added  to  his  personal  dignity  and 
bearing  and  gave  him  an  especial  standing  in  society.  Judge 
Chapman,  of  the  Supreme  judicial  court,  acquired  his  early  legal 
training  in  General  Knox's  office.  The  latter  spent  the  last  years 
of  his  life  in  Ohio. 

Oliver  B.  Aloi'i-is.  who  died  in  1871,  in  his  eighty-ninth  year, 
for  many  years  was  one  of  Hampden's  leading  citizens  and  prom- 
inent lawyers.     He  was  born  in  1782,  and  was  the  son  of  Edward 

(      316      ) 


Oliver  B.  Morris 
Of  the  old  Hampden  Bar 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

Morris,  an  early  settler  and  a  patriot  of  the  revolution.  Oliver 
graduated  at  Williams  college  in  1801  and  read  law  with  ''Mas- 
ter ' '  George  Bliss,  whose  daughter  he  subsequently  married.  He 
came  to  the  bar  in  1804  and  practiced  until  1835,  combining  with 
professional  work  a  long  service  in  public  life.  From  1809  to 
1811,  and  again  in  1813,  he  was  representative  in  the  general 
court,  and  from  1813  to  1829  he  was  register  of  probate.  Again, 
from  1829  to  1858,  he  was  judge  of  the  Probate  court.  In  the 
meantime,  from  1820  to  1832,  he  likewise  served  as  county  attor- 
ney, under  the  old  statute  relating  to  that  office.  He  also  was  a 
member  of  the  constitutional  convention  of  1820.  Politically, 
eJudge  Morris  originally  was  a  federalist,  later  a  whig  and  finally 
a  republican ;  and  it  goes  without  saying  that  he  was  a  prominent 
figure  in  political  circles,  as  his  long  service  in  official  station 
clearly  indicates.  Judge  Morris  was  a  native  of  South  Wilbra- 
ham. 

John  MiDs  is  remembered  by  the  older  members  of  the 
Hampden  bar  as  a  lawyer  of  much  prominence  and  a  successful 
practitioner  in  the  inferior  courts.  After  his  removal  to  Spring- 
field he  engaged  in  various  commercial  enterprises  outside  of  the 
profession,  and  he  had  the  misfortune  to  lose  a  great  share  of  his 
property.  Mr.  Mills  was  born  in  Sandisfield  about  1790.  He 
read  law  with  Judge  John  Phelps  and  was  admitted  to  practice  in 
1815.     He  was  in  the  senate  in  1826-8. 

Justice  Willard,  the  noted  special  pleader,  began  his  career 
as  a  lawyer  in  1816,  and  when  Judge  Morris  was  appointed  judge 
of  probate,  Mr.  Willard  succeeded  him  as  register.  He  is  re- 
called as  a  lawyer  of  ability,  and  also  as  an  uninteresting  public 
speaker,  for  he  was  too  logical  in  his  arguments  to  attract  listen- 
ers. It  was  he  who  once  declared  in  a  public  assemblage  that 
some  of  his  hearers  would  live  to  witness  the  running  of  a  train 
of  cars  from  Springfield  to  Boston  "between  sun  and  sun."  But 
notwithstanding  his  peculiarities  Mr.  AVillard  was  an  honored 
member  of  the  bar  and  a  respected  citizen. 

Caleb  Hice  is  recalled  as  one  of  the  leading  counsellors  of  his 
time  rather  than  as  a  strong  trial  lawyer  and  advocate.  He  was 
born  in  1792.  mid  graduated  at  Williams  college.     He  read  law 

(      318      ) 


William  B.  Calhoun 


OLR  COUMY  AXD  ITS  PEOPLE 

in  Westtield,  with  William  Blair,  and  was  admitted  to  practice  in 
1819,  He  settled  in  West  Springfield,  but  upon  his  election  to 
the  office  of  sheriff*,  which  he  held  from  1831  to  1851,  he  removed 
to  Springfield.  He  served  also  in  both  houses  of  the  state  legis- 
lature and  was  one  of  the  early  mayors  of  Springfield.  Mr.  Rice 
was  a  jiopular  citizen  and  one  who  enjoyed  the  confidence  of  the 
people.     He  died  in  1873. 

William  B.  Calhoun  probably  received  his  early  legal  train- 
ing from  "^Master"  George  Bliss;  and  while  that  schooling  was 
thorough  and  he  gave  much  promise  for  future  advancement  in 
professional  life,  he  afterward  drifted  away  and  became  absorbed 
in  other  pursuits.  It  was  not  that  he  loved  the  law  less  but  that 
he  loved  politics  more,  hence  the  best  of  his  years  Avere  spent  in 
public  life,  and  when  he  finally  laid  aside  the  cares  and  duties  of 
office  he  retired  to  the  quiet  of  his  farm.  He  was  speaker  of  the 
jNIassachusetts  house  of  representatives  from  1828  to  1835,  and 
was  president  of  the  senate  in  1846  and  1847.  He  served  several 
years  in  congress,  and  from  1845  to  1851  was  secretary  of  state 
for  INIassachusetts.     Mr.  Calhoun  came  to  the  bar  in  1821. 

"William  C4elston  Bates  was  aptly  called  the  "father  of  the 
Hampden  bar,"  for  he  more  than  anj^  of  his  contemporaries  care- 
fully watched  the  passing  of  the  one  and  the  succession  of  another 
generation  of  legal  lights  in  the  county.  Best  of  all,  he  remem- 
bered and  stored  up  for  future  use  all  that  he  witnessed  in  pass- 
ing years,  and  it  is  by  recourse  to  his  reminiscences  of  the  old  bar 
that  we  still  know  something  of  the  character  and  works  of  those 
who  "served  the  law"  three-quarters  of  a  century  ago.  Mr. 
Bates  was  born  in  AYestfield  in  1803,  and  died  in  1880.  He  grad- 
uated at  Yale  college  in  1825,  and  read  law  with  his  father,  Elijah 
Bates,  and  also  with  Mr.  ]\Iills,  Judge  Howe  and  John  H.  Ash- 
mtui.  He  was  admitted  to  practice  in  1828  and  soon  afterward 
was  appointed  master  in  chancery.  He  was  appointed  a  member 
of  the  state  board  of  education  in  1839  and  served  eight  years. 
He  was  in  the  senate  in  1841 :  in  the  governor's  council  in  1844- 
45 :  district  attorney  in  1853,  and  in  the  house  of  representatives 
in  1868. 

Erasmus  D.  Beach  was  born  in  Sandisfield.  He  read  laAV 
with  his  uncle,  John  ]Mills,  and  came  to  the  bar  in  1823,  locating 

(      320      ) 


William  Gelston  Bates,  Westlield 
"  Father  and  Historian  of  the  Hampden  Bar  " 


21-1 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

in  Springfield.  He  Avas  a  lawyer  of  much  strength  and  had  a 
large  practice.  Among  his  legal  associates  were  James  W. 
Crooks,  AVilliam  (x.  Bates,  Edward  B.  (Jillett  and  Ephraim  W. 
Bond,  all  of  Avhom  are  now  dead. 

George  M.  Stearns,  the  brilliant  pleader  and  able  and  suc- 
cessful lawyer,  the  acknowledged  leader  of  the  Hampden  bar  in 
his  time,  senior  member  of  the  well  known  law  firm  of  Stearns, 
Knowlton  &  Long,  and  with  all  his  varied  accomplishments  an 
ardent  lover  of  good  horses,  was  the  son  of  a  clergyman  of  the 
Unitarian  church.  Mr.  Stearns  acquired  his  early  legal  educa- 
tion in  the  office  of  Judge  Wells,  in  Chicopee.  and  after  his  admis- 
sion to  the  bar,  in  1852.  he  became  his  law  partner.  He  made  his 
home  in  Chicopee  several  years,  yet  his  practice,  and  his  fame  as 
a  lawyer,  extended  almost  throughout  the  state,  particularly  after 
he  joined  the  Springfield  bar.  As  an  advocate  before  the  jury 
Mr.  Stearns  was  almost  without  a  rival,  and  as  a  stump  speaker 
his  mental  resources  apparently  Avere  boundless,  his  wit  and 
pathos  at  times  being  inimitable.  He  was  a  democrat  of  the  old 
school,  yet  the  district  attorneyship  Avas  about  the  extent  of  his 
political  holdings.  His  counsel,  his  voice  and  his  influence  were 
ever  at  the  service  of  his  party.      Mr.  Stearns  died  in  1894. 

George  B.  Morris,  the  younger  son  of  Judge  Oliver  B.  Mor- 
ris, Avas  born  in  Springfield  in  1818.  He  was  educated  at  Am- 
herst college  and  Harvard  laAA'  school  and  was  admitted  to  the  bar 
in  1840.  He  first  practiced  laAV  in  partnership  Avith  his  brother, 
Henry  Morris,  and  afterAA^ards  separately,  Avhen  he  held  the  ofHce 
of  commissioner  of  insolvency.  In  18e52  the  Supreme  judicial 
court  appointed  him  clerk  of  the  courts  for  Hampden  county.  In 
1856  this  office  AA^as  made  elective,  and  he  Avas  then  chosen  by  the 
people  CA'ery  fiA-e  years  until  his  death  in  1872.  Mr.  Morris  Avas 
a  quiet,  retiring  man,  but  very  social  Avith  his  intimate  friends. 
He  AA'as  an  excellent  laAvyer,  a  great  reader  of  general  literature 
and  Avas  aa'cII  informed  on  all  subjects.  William  G.  Bates,  in 
Avriting  of  him, said  he  knew  of  no  officer  to  Avhom  the  members  of 
the  bar  Avere  more  justly  attached,  and  the  late  Judge  Gideon 
Wells  said  of  him  that  he  Avas  never  knoAvn  to  make  a  mistake. 

EdAvard  Bates  Gillett,  district  attorney  from  1856  to  1861, 
and  recognized  as  one  of  the  ablest  lawyers  of  Massachusetts  in 

(      322      ) 


BENCH  AND  BAR 

liis  time,  was  born  in  St)uth  Hadley  Falls  in  August,  1817,  and 
died  in  his  comfortable  home  in  Westfield  in  February,  1893.  His 
early  education  was  ac(iuired  in  the  academy  at  South  Iladley 
and  also  that  in  AVestfield,  and  he  graduated  at  Amherst  college 
in  1839.  (He  Avas  made  a  trustee  of  that  institution  in  1861,  and 
in  1866  was  honored  with  the  degree  of  LL.  D.)  Mr.  Gillett 
read  law  with  his  unck\  Isaac  C.  Bates,  later  attended  Harvard 
hiw  school  and  was  admitted  to  practice  in  1843.  He  began  his 
professional  career  in  AVestfiekl  and  soon  rose  to  a  position  of 
prominence  in  the  ranks  of  the  profession.  He  became  partner 
with  Mr.  Bates,  a  relation  which  was  maintained  until  1852,  and 
Avas  followed  by  a  partnership  with  Ephraim  L.  Lincoln,  who 
died  in  1859.  His  next  partner  was  Homer  B.  Stevens,  with 
whom  lie  continued  until  1883,  when  he  retired  from  active  pro- 
fessional work.  About  the  time  of  the  organization  of  the  re- 
publican party  Mr.  Gillett  had  gained  an  enviable  prominence  as 
a  trial  lawyer  and  advocate,  and  as  an  old-time  whig  it  was  only 
natural  that  he  should  be  looked  upon  as  the  leader  of  the  new 
party  in  this  part  of  the  state.  He  was  a  delegate  to  the  first  re- 
publican national  convention  that  nominated  John  C.  Fremont, 
and  in  1860  he  was  a  Lincoln  elector.  High  political  honors  were 
temptingly  offered  him,  but  he  resisted  them  and  contented  him- 
self with  six  years  service  as  district  attorney  and  a  year  in  the 
Massachusetts  senate.  In  the  former  office  he  succeeded  Henry 
L.  Dawes  and  was  in  turn  succeeded  by  George  ]\I.  Stearns.  In 
speaking  of  Mr.  Gillett 's  conduct  of  the  office  Mr.  Stearns  once 
publicly  remarked  that  his  predecessor  was  by  far  the  ablest  in- 
cumbent of  the  district  attorneyship  that  Western  Massachusetts 
ever  had  furnished.  A  seat  in  the  senate  of  the  United  States 
might  easily  have  been  won  by  him  had  he  inclined  to  political  in- 
dulgences. In  Westfield  Mr.  Gillett  was  in  many  ways  identified 
with  the  best  interests  and  history  of  the  town.  He  was  truly 
loyal  to  all  its  institutions  and  was  honored  by  its  people.  He 
Avas  a  member  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.,  the  iVmerican  board  of  missions, 
and  of  the  First  church :  was  a  director  and  counsel  for  the  B.  & 
A.  railroad  company  and  attorney  for  the  N.  H.  &  N.  company : 
Avas  president  of  the  Hampden  bank,    the    Westfield    insurance 

(      323      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

company,  the  Atliena?imi,  and  a  member  of  the  board  of  trustees 
of  the  academy  fund. 

Ephraim  W.  Bond,  of  the  old  huv  firm  of  Beach  &  Bond,  and 
one  of  Springfield 's  foremost  lawyers  and  business  men  for  many 
years,  was  born  in  West  Brookfield  in  1821,  and  died  in  Spring- 
field in  1891.  In  1826  his  parents  removed  from  Brookfield  to 
the  shire  town  of  Hampden  county,  and  in  that  city  the  greater 
part  of  his  business  life  was  spent ;  and  during  the  course  of  his 
long  and  active  business  career  he  was  in  some  manner  identified 
with  every  important  measure  that  had  for  its  end  the  welfare  of 
Springfield  and  its  people.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  presi- 
dent of  the  Springfield  Five  Cents  savings  bank  and  of  the  city 
library  and  a  director  of  the  Pynchon  national  bank.  He  was 
one  of  the  founders  of  the  savings  bank  and  outlived  all  of  his  co- 
workers in  establishing  that  institution.  He  was  selectman  be- 
fore Springfield  became  a  city,  and  was  largely  instrumental  in 
securing  the  city  charter.  Under  the  city  government  he  served 
both  as  councilman  and  alderman.  He  was  in  the  house  of  rep- 
resentatives in  1852.  He  was  a  republican  though  not  specially 
active  in  political  affairs.  Mr.  Bond  was  educated  in  the  Spring- 
field public  schools  and  graduated  at  Amherst  college  in  1841.  He 
then  took  a  post-graduate  course  in  Yale  and  afterward  a  law 
course  in  Harvard  law  school,  graduating  in  1844.  He  came  to 
the  bar  in  Springfield  in  1845  and  at  once  began  practice.  Six 
years  later  he  became  partner  with  Erasmus  D.  Beach,  which  re- 
lation was  maintained  until  1864.  During  that  period  the  firm 
of  Beach  &  Bond  became  well  known  in  legal  circles  in  this  state. 
In  1867  the  junior  partner  was  chosen  vice-president  of  the  Mu- 
tual Life  insurance  company,  and  on  the  death  of  president  Caleb 
Eice  in  1873,  he  was  elected  his  successor,  thereafter  being  vir- 
tual manager  of  the  affairs  of  the  company  until  1886,  when  he 
retired  from  active  business  life. 

Oeorge  Walker,  the  greater  part  of  whose  active  life  was  de- 
voted to  other  pursuits  than  the  practice  of  law,  but  who  never- 
theless Avas  a  lawyer  of  ability  as  well  as  a  banker  and  financier 
of  national  prominence,  was  born  in  Peterboro,  N.  H..  in  1824 
and  died  in  Wa.shington,  D.  C,  in  1888.      He  was  a  graduate  of 

(      324      ) 


BENCH  AXD  BAR 

Dartmouth,  class  of  1842,  and  acquired  his  early  legal  education 
in  the  office  of  Henry  INIorris  and  in  Harvard  law  school.  He 
was  admitted  to  the  Hampden  bar  in  1846 ;  was  in  the  senate  in 
1858  and  '59,  and  a  member  of  the  house  in  1868.  After  drop- 
ping professional  work  he  turned  his  attention  to  banking,  and 
was  president  of  the  Third  national  bank  of  Springfield.  He 
achieved  special  prominence  in  financial  circles,  and  in  1865  was 
sent  to  Europe  by  the  national  government  to  settle  certain  ques- 
tions in  connection  with  the  public  debt.  In  1869  he  again  was 
abroad  at  the  request  of  the  INIassachusetts  government  to  trans- 
act financial  business,  and  in  1879  for  a  third  time  he  visited 
Europe  in  behalf  of  the  general  government  to  investigate  the 
subject  of  international  bi-metallic  monetary  standard. 

Nehemiah  Allen  Leonard,  of  the  old  law  firm  of  Chapman, 
Ashmun  &  Leonard,  and  of  the  later  firm  of  Leonard  &  Wells, 
district  attorney  in  1874-75  and  again  from  1878  to  1881,  was 
born  in  New  Bedford  in  1825,  and  died  December  15,  1890.  He 
was  the  son  of  Capt.  Nehemiah  Leonard,  who  followed  the  sea  for 
many  years.  He  was  a  graduate  of  Brown  university  in  1848 
and  came  thence  to  Springfield  to  read  law  with  Chapman,  Ash- 
mun &  Norton,  with  whom  he  afterward  was  professionally  asso- 
ciated. He  was  admitted  to  practice  in  1850  and  soon  became 
partner  with  Mr.  Ashmun.  In  later  years  he  attained  a  high 
standing  in  the  profession  and  was  recognized  as  one  of  the  lead- 
ing corporation  lawyers  of  the  state.  So  closely  indeed  did  he 
become  identified  with  corporation  practice  and  interests  that  for 
several  years  he  was  counsel  for  the  Connecticut  river  railroad, 
and  in  1880  was  elected  president  of  the  company.  In  1874  he 
was  appointed  district  attorney  to  succeed  Mr.  Stearns,  and  in 
1877  he  was  elected  to  the  same  office.  He  also  served  six  years 
as  councilman  in  Springfield  and  was  president  of  the  board 
from  1860  to  1864. 

William  Steele  Shnrtlefi'.  register  of  insolvency  from  1857  to 
1859,  register  of  probate  from  1859  to  1868,  and  .judge  of  probate 
and  insolvency  from  1868  to  1896,  was  born  in  Newburg.  N.  Y., 
in  1830,  and  died  in  Longmeadow  in  January.  1896.  He  was 
the    son    of    Roswell    and    Clara    (Gleason)    Shurtlefi:,    and    a 

(       325      ) 


Colonel  William  S.  Shurtleff 
Forty-Sixth  3Iassachusetts  Volunteer  Infantry 


BENCH  AND  BAR 

descendant  in  the  seventh  generation  of  "William  Shurtleff,  who 
came  with  the  pilgrims  in  the  vessel  next  following  the  May- 
flower. The  family  came  to  Springfield  in  1839.  Judge  Shurt- 
leff was  educated  in  the  public  schools,  Williston  seminary  and 
Yale  college,  but  was  not  graduated.  He  studied  law  with  George 
Ashmun  and  in  Harvard  law  school,  and  came  to  the  bar  in  1856. 
Soon  after  he  began  practice  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Henry 
Vose,  and  still  later  was  partner  with  George  Walker.  In  the 
early  part  of  the  war  of  1861-65  he  entered  the  army,  enlisting  as 
private  in  Co.  A,  36th  Mass.  Vol.  Inf.,  and  on  the  organization  of 
the  company  was  elected  lieutenant;  and  on  the  organization  of 
the  regimental  field  and  staff  he  w^as  likewise  chosen  lieutenant- 
colonel.  Three  months  later  he  was  promoted  colonel,  by  which 
designation  he  afterward  was  generally  known.  On  returning 
from  the  service  Judge  Shurtleff  was  appointed  judge  of  probate 
and  insolvency'  and  served  in  that  capacity  until  his  death.  He 
was  a  competent,  faithful  public  official,  loyal  to  every  duty  and 
loyal  to  his  friends.  He  was  closely  identified  with  early  city 
history  and  assisted  in  preparing  the  charter ;  was  a  prominent 
Mason ;  was  vice-president  of  the  state  board  of  public  reserva- 
tions ;  one  of  the  founders  of  the  Connecticut  valley  historical  so- 
ciety and  its  vice-president;  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts  his- 
torical society ;  a  director  of  the  city  library  association ;  an  influ- 
ential member  of  the  G.  A.  K. ;  a  member  of  the  Winthrop  club, 
and  for  two  years  vice-president  of  the  Yale  alumni  association  of 
Western  Massachusetts. 

John  Mills  Stebbins,  mayor  of  Springfield  in  1877,  and  other- 
wise for  many  years  identified  with  the  history  of  the  city,  was 
born  in  Hinsdale,  December  27,  1826,  the  son  of  Elihu  and  Mary 
(Hooker)  Stebbins.  He  graduated  at  Dartmouth  college  in 
1848,  read  law  with  Beach  &  Bond  and  came  to  the  bar  in  1851. 

William  H.  Haile,  late  president  of  the  Hampden  loan  and 
trust  company,  lieutenant-governor  from  1890  to  1893,  and  once 
the  nominee  of  the  republican  party  for  the  governorship  of 
Masachusetts,  was  born  in  Chesterfield,  N.  H.,  in  1833  and  died 
in  Springfield  in  1901.  He  fitted  for  college  in  Kimball  union 
academy  and  also  in  Meriden,  N.  H..  in  an  institution  of  similar 

(      327      ) 


01' R  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

rank.  He  entered  Amherst  but  left  in  his  sophomore  year  for 
Dartmouth.  Avhere  he  was  graduated  in  1856.  He  read  law  in 
Springfield  and  came  to  the  bar  in  1859.  He  practiced  for 
a  time  in  Boston  and  then  returned  to  Hinsdale  to  engage  in 
manufacturing  enterprises.  He  was  in  the  lower  house  of  the 
legislature  in  1865-6,  and  again  in  1871.  The  next  year  he  came 
to  Springfield  and  afterward  was  identified  with  the  best  inter- 
ests of  the  city,  devoting  his  attention  more  closely  to  business 
pursuits  than  to  the  practice  of  law.  He  was  mayor  of  the  city 
in  1881 ;  was  in  the  senate  in  1882  and  '83,  and  lieutenant- 
governor  of  ]\Iassachusetts  from  1890  to  1893.  In  1882  he  was 
the  unsuccessful  candidate  of  his  party  for  the  governorship. 

Gideon  Wells,  who  during  his  active  professional  career  was 
partner  with  such  strong  lawyers  as  George  Ashmun  and  Nehe- 
miah  A.  Leonard,  and  who  was  known  in  legal  circles  in  Hamp- 
den county  as  a  learned  and  safe  counsellor,  was  born  in  Wethers- 
field.  Conn.,  August  16,  1835,  and  died  in  Springfield  in  INIareh, 
1898.  His  young  life  was  spent  on  a  farm,  and  he  was  educated 
in  the  once  famous  East  Windsor  Hill  school,  Williston  seminary 
and  Yale  college,  graduating  at  the  latter  in  1858.  He  then 
came  to  Springfield  and  read  law  with  Chapman  &  Chamberlain, 
and  was  admitted  to  practice  in  1860.  He  at  once  associated  with 
Ashmun  &  Leonard  in  the  general  practice  of  law,  but  soon  after- 
ward enlisted  in  Co.  A,  46th  Mass.  Inf..  serving  as  first  lieutenant 
in  that  command  and  also  in  the  8th  Inf.  Judge  Wells  is  remem- 
bered as  a  good  lawyer,  though  the  latter  years  of  his  practice 
were  given  to  the  affairs  of  the  Massachusetts  Mutual  Life,  for 
which  company  he  was  general  counsel.  He  was  register  in 
bankruptcy  from  1869  to  1876,  and  in  the  latter  year  he  succeed- 
ed Judge  Morton  as  the  head  of  the  police  court  of  Springfield, 
holding  the  office  until  1890.  He  also  for  several  years  was  at- 
torney for  the  Springfield  street  railway  company,  and  for  the 
First,  Second  and  Third  national  banks.  He  was  a  director  of 
the  John  Hancock  and  Third  national  banks,  and  at  one  time  was 
president  of  the  Holyoke  water  power  company.  These  special 
interests  occupied  much  of  his  time  and  naturally  drew  him  away 
from  the  general  practice. 

(      328      ) 


BENCH  AND  BAB 

Timothy  Manning  Brown,  register  in  bankruptcy  from  1875 
to  1880,  city  attorney  for  Springfield  in  1879-80  and  from  1881 
to  1885,  president  of  the  Hampden  bar  association  at  the  time  of 
his  death,  March  13,  1897,  was  born  in  AVilliamstown,  INIay  8, 
1838,  the  son  of  Manning  Brown  and  a  grandson  of  Caleb  Brown, 
a  Rhode  Island  Quaker  and  an  early  settler  in  Cheshire.  He 
prepared  for  college  at  Swan's  school  in  Williamstown,  and 
graduated  at  Williams  in  1859.  The  next  year  he  came  to 
Springfield  and  began  the  study  of  law  with  Chapman  &  Cham- 
berlain, and  came  to  the  bar  in  1862.  Soon  afterward  he  formed 
a  law  partnership  with  James  A.  Rumrill,  and  about  the  same 
time  was  appointed  assistant  assessor  of  internal  revenue,  later 
being  made  assessor,  vice  Major  Emerson  of  Pittsfield.  During 
his  active  life  as  a  lawyer,  Mr.  Brown  was  attorney,  director  and 
president  pro  tern,  of  the  Agawam  national  bank,  and  a  trustee 
of  the  Hampden  savings  bank.  For  nine  years  also  he  served  as 
member  of  the  school  committee.  From  1885  until  his  death  he 
was  president  of  the  Hampden  bar  association,  and  also  for  a  time 
was  chairman  of  the  board  of  bar  examiners. 

George  Dexter  Robinson,  representative  for  Chieopee  in  the 
house  of  the  general  court  in  1874,  state  senator  in  1876,  repre- 
sentative in  the  United  States  congress  from  1877  to  1884,  and 
governor  of  Massachusetts  in  1884,  '85  and  '86,  was  born  in  Lex- 
ington, January  20,  1834,  the  son  of  Charles  and  Mary  (Davis) 
Robinson.  His  early  education  was  acquired  in  the  public 
schools,  Lexington  academy  and  the  Hopkins  classical  grammar 
school  in  Cambridge,  where  he  fitted  for  college.  He  graduated 
at  Harvard  in  1856,  with  the  degree  of  A.  B.  He  then  became 
principal  of  the  Chieopee  high  school,  which  position  he  filled 
until  1865,  when  he  began  the  study  of  law  with  his  brother, 
Charles  Robinson,  of  Cambridge.  The  next  year  he  was  ad- 
mitted to  practice  and  at  once  started  upon  his  professional 
career  in  Chieopee,  where  he  maintained  a  residence  until  the 
time  of  his  death.  He  soon  rose  to  a  position  of  prominence 
among  the  leading  lawyers  of  the  county  bar,  and  at  the  same  time 
time  his  participation  in  political  affairs  gave  him  a  wide  ac- 
quaintance throughout  the  state.      He  justly   deserved   all   the 

(      329      ) 


/  ^'  \ 

George  Dexter  Robinson 


BENCH  AND  BAB 

political  honors  which  were  awarded  him,  and  in  every  public 
capacity  he  acquitted  himself  with  entire  credit  to  his  constitu- 
ency as  well  as  to  himself.  As  a  lawyer  in  active  practice  he  was 
associated  as  attorney  of  record  or  as  senior  counsel  in  some  of 
the  most  important  civil  and  criminal  cases  ever  tried  in  the 
courts  of  the  state,  and  as  a  republican  of  unquestioned  integrity 
of  character  his  counsel  Avas  frequently  sought  by  the  leaders  of 
his  party  in  the  nation.  In  1887  he  was  offered  by  President 
Cleveland  an  appointment  as  inter-state  civil  service  commis- 
sioner, which  he  declined,  and  in  1889  he  also  declined  President 
Harrison's  offered  appointment  as  commissioner  to  the  civilized 
Indian  tribes. 

Thus  luight  these  reminiscences  be  continued  almost  indefi- 
nitely did  the  policy  and  scope  of  our  chapter  permit,  but  now 
having  passed  the  allotted  space  we  are  admonished  to  desist.  The 
successors  to  the  old  bar  were  equally  worthy  and  honorable,  but 
many  of  those  who  entered  the  profession  subsequent  to  1850  are 
still  living  and  it  is  contrary  to  the  design  of  our  work  to  review 
the  lives  of  those  whose  career  is  unfinished,  except  as  they  may 
have  attained  to  positions  on  the  bench.  However,  that  the  rec- 
ord of  the  bar  of  the  county  may  be  made  as  complete  as  possible, 
the  writer  has  availed  himself  of  county  records,  old  newspaper 
files,  public  and  legal  documents,  old  court  calendars  and,  in  fact, 
all  reliable  sources  of  information,  and  has  compiled  therefrom 
the  appended  chronological  register  of  the  bar.  The  claim  is 
not  made  that  the  list  is  in  all  respects  perfect,  or  that  it  shows 
the  name  of  every  lawyer  who  has  practiced  in  the  county  since 
1812,  for  many  have  come  from  other  counties  after  admission, 
and  of  that  class  no  special  record  is  kept.  However,  the  "ros- 
ter" shows  for  itself  and  may  be  regarded  as  reasonably  accu- 
rate, showing  names  of  attorneys  and  the  year  in  which  each  Avas 
admitted  to  the  bar  in  this  county. 

1812— Patrick  Boise. 

1813 — John  Hooker,  George  Hinckkn',  John  Howard. 

1814— Solomon  Lathrop. 

1815 — Charles  F.  Bates,  Benjamin  Day,  George  Bliss,  jr., 
Eli  B.  Hamilton. 

(      331      ) 


OVR  COUXTY  AXD  ITS  PEOPLE 

1816 — Gorluim  Parks. 

1817 — Alfred  Stearns,  Caleb  Rice. 

1818— William  B.  Calhoun,  John  B.  Cooley. 

1819 — Epaphras  Clark,  Erasmus  Norcross,  Heman  Stebbins, 
Asa  Olmstead. 

1820— Josiah  Hooker. 

1822— William  Bliss.  Joel  ^Miller,  Richard  D.  Morris. 

1824— William  Crooks,  Norman  T.  Leonard. 

1825 — Reuben  Atwater  Chapman. 

1827— Matthew  Ives,  jr. 

1828 — William  G.  Bates.  William  M.  Lathrop.  Joseph  Knox, 
George  Ashmun. 

1829 — Chauncey  B.  Rising,  William  D wight. 

1830— Francis  Dwight,  William  Hyde. 

1831 — Joseph  Huntington. 

1832-William  Bliss,  William  C.  Dwight. 

1833— Erasmus  D.  Beach. 

1834— Richard  Bliss. 

1835 — Henry  Morris. 

1836— H.  H.  Buckland,  George  Baylies  Upham. 

1837— Russell  E.  Dewey. 

1839 -William  W.  Blair. 

1840— George  B.  Morris. 

1841— Henry  Vose. 

1842-Edward  Bates  Gillett. 

1843  — Otis  A.  Seamans,  Lorenzo  Norton,  William  0.  Gor- 
ham,  Lorenzo  D.  Brown, 

1845 — Allen  Bangs,  jr.,  Wellington  Thompson,  Ephraim  W. 
Bond,  Lester  E.  Newell,  Albert  Clarke,  William  Allen,  jr. 

1846— P.  Emory  Aldrich,  Thomas  B.  Munn,  George  Walker, 
Bernard  B.  Whittemore,  Lester  Williams,  jr.,  Charles  C.  Hay- 
ward. 

1847— Sanniel  L.  Flemming,  Elbridge  G.  Bowdoin,  James 
H.  Morton,  Sanuiel  Fowler,  Edwin  M.  Bigelow,  Charles  K.  Weth- 
erell. 

1848— Fayette  Smith,  Charles  R.  Ladd,  George  L.  Squier, 
Reuben  P.  Boies,  Charles  H.  Branscomb. 

(      332      ) 


BENCH  AND  BAR 

1849— Joseph  jNI.  Cavis,  William  B.  C.  Pearsons,  Augustus 
L.  Soule,  Henry  Fuller,  John  Munn,  Edward  P.  Burnham. 

1850— Timothy  G.  Pelton,  Charles  A.  Winchester,  Asahel 
Bush,  Franklin  Crosby. 

1851— Charles  T.  Arthur,  John  M.  Stebbins,  AVilliam  How- 
land,  Oramel  S.  Senter,  Nehemiah  A.  Leonard,  James  C.  Hins- 
dale. 

1852— George  M.  Stearns,  Martin  J.  Severance,  James  F, 
Dwight,  William  C.  Greene,  George  L.  Frost. 

1853— Milton  B.  Whitney,  William  L.  Smith,  James  G. 
Allen,  John  H.  Thompson. 

1854— John  INI.  Emerson,  Henry  B.  Lewis,  George  0.  Ide, 
James  K.  Mills. 

1855 — Norman  L.  Johnson,  James  E.  Mclntyre,  Samuel  J. 
Ross,  Alfred  M.  Copeland. 

1856-Joel  T.  Rice,  William  S.  Shurtleff,  Irving  Allen, 
George  H.  Knapp. 

1857— Ambrose  N.  Merrick,  S.  B.  Woolworth,  E.  A.  Warri- 
ner,  Edward  D.  Hay  den. 

1858— Liberty  B.  Dennett,  Stephen  E.  Seymour,  Frank  E. 
Merriman. 

1859— Moses  W.  Chapin,  Henry  E.  Daniels,  Porter  Under- 
wood, William  C.  Ide,  Benton  W.  Cole,  William  H.  Halle,  E. 
Howard  Lathrop,  Homer  B.  Stevens. 

I860- Gideon  Wells. 

1861— James  A.  Rumrill,  John  W.  Moore,  Otis  P.  Abererom- 
bie. 

1862— Timothy  M.  Brown,  Marcus  P.  Knowlton,  Joseph  H. 
Blair. 

1863— Sidney  Sanders,  Reuben  Chapman,  Samuel  G.  Lor- 
ing. 

1864— William  S.  Greene,  Edward  Morris. 

1865— Charles  A.  Beach,  James  C.  Greenough,  J.  P.  Buck- 
land,  Edward  W.  Chapin,  Joseph  Morgan. 

1866 — George  Dexter  Robinson. 

1867— George  B.  Morris,  jr.,  Hugh  Donnelly,  Charles  A. 
Birnie,  J.  Porter,  jr.,  Charles  L.  Gardner. 

(      333      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AXD  ITS  PEOPLE 

1868— Charles  C.  ypellniaii.  Elisha  Burr  Maynard,  Luther 
White. 

1869— AYilliam  B.  Rogers,  John  W.  Burgess. 

1870  — Kll)ridge  W.  Merrell,  Joseph  AY.  Browne,  James  INI. 
Cochran. 

1871— Albert  A.  Tyler,  Edward  Bellamy. 

1872— John  P.  Wall,  Thomas  F.  Riley,  Harris  L.  Sherman, 
John  W.  Converse,  Charles  L.  Long,  William  Slattery,  jr.,  S.  S. 
Taft. 

1873— Robert  0.  Morris,  Jonathan  Allen,  Luther  Emerson 
Barnes,  Frank  E.  Carpenter. 

1874— James  Robert  Dunbar,  Loranus  E.  Hitchcock,  W.  J. 
Quinn,  H.  K.  Hawes,  Austin  P.  Christy,  Daniel  E.  Webster. 

1875— Joseph  M.  Ross,  George  L.  Pease,  Elisha  P.  Bartholo- 
mew, Michael  L.  Moriarity,  Harrison  Hume,  John  L.  King,  Wil- 
liam G.  AA^hite,  Thomas  B.  AVarren,  C.  A.  Sherman,  H.  A.  Bar- 
tholomew. 

1876— Hubert  M.  Coney,  Charles  J.  Bellamy,  Xeill  Dumont, 
Edmund  P.  Kendrick,  John  B.  Vincent,  jr. 

1877  — Charles  H.  Hersey,  George  H.  Graves,  Fred  H.  Gil- 
lett,  Michael  T.  Foley,  A.  L.  Murray,  Patrick  H.  Casey,  Allen 
AA^ebster,  AA^illiam  H.  Brooks. 

1878— Jeremiah  P.  AYhalen,  George  Kress,  AVillmore  B. 
Stone,  Henry  M.  AYalradt,  Charles  R.  Dudley,  AVilliam  AY.  Mc- 
Clench. 

1879— Joseph  Le  Boeuf,  Salem  D.  Charles,  Charles  H.  Bar- 
rows, Alfred  R.  Barker,  Homer  C.  Strong,  Cornelius  J.  Driscoll, 
AA^illis  S.  Kellogg,  Thomas  AA^.  Kenefick,  L.  Fred  AYhitman. 

1880— Charles  F.  Ely,  John  H.  Flower,  Francis  W.  Fiske, 
Albert  B.  Clark,  Langdon  L.  AYard,  John  J.  Reardon,  U.  S.  Dem- 
ming,  James  S.  Boucks,  Henry  C.  Bliss. 

1881— Frederick  G.  Fisher,  George  D.  Field,  James  E.  Dun- 
leavy,  Norman  A.  Fowler,  Henry  W.  Ashley,  Ralph  AY.  Ellis. 

1882— Thomas  C.  Johnson,  Arthur  Kilgore,  Henry  Knox, 
James  H.  Loomis.  Frank  A.  AAHiitney,  James  Tierney.  Edwin  F. 
Lyford. 

1888-AA^illiam  AY.  Leach,  James  Bliss. 

(      334      ) 


BENCH  AXD  BAR 

188J:— Frederick  H.  Stebl)ins.  AVarren  C.  French,  jr.,  Clay- 
ton D.  Smith,  Philip  J.  O'Hanlon. 

1885— George  S.  Dexter. 

1886— Emile  Orphir  Genest,  Charles  Henry  Grout,  John  F. 
Coar,  Harry  AV.  Brighani,  AValter  Stevens  Robinson,  Patrick 
James  ]\Ioore. 

1887— Adelard  Archanibaiilt,  Charles  Leonard  Mahoney, 
Thomas  Daniel  O'Brien,  Alfred  Timothy  Guyott,  Addison 
Loomis  Green. 

1888— Alfred  F.  Lilley,  Jonathan  Barnes,  Benjamin  Brooks, 
Edward  A.  Barker,  Samuel  La  Palme,  Robert  Mills  Beach,  Ar- 
thur Eugene  Fitch. 

1889— James  Davis  Murray.  Christopher  Theodore  Callahan, 
AVilliam  Hamilton,  Richard  John  Morrissey,  AVilliam  Patrick 
Hayes,  Patrick  Kilroy. 

1890— AVallace  R.  Heady,  Matthew  S.  Herbert. 

1891— Milton  F.  Druce,  Frank  Eaton  Carpenter,  Charles 
INlerriam  Kirkham.  Andrew  J.  Todd,  Thomas  Alphonsus  Fitz 
Gibbon. 

1892— Arthur  Howe  Sherwin,  Henry  Hall  Bosworth,  Wal- 
lace Wilson,  Daniel  M.  Key,  Thomas  Moore  Roberts,  Michael 
Joseph  0  'Connor,  Arthur  Adams  Folsom,  Joseph  Menard. 

1893— Jason  W.  Steele,  Thomas  Joseph  0 'Conner,  John  Hil- 
dreth,  Henry  H.  Barker,  jr.,  John  Henry  Farley,  Henry  Amasa 
King,  Robert  Charles  Cooley. 

1894— Charles  Gilmore  Gardner,  Fred  Allen  Ballon,  John 
Francis  Stapleton,  jr.,  Robert  Arthur  Allyn,  Denis  O'Neil,  jr.. 
Charles  Wilder  Bosworth,  Henry  Adelbert  Booth,  AA^allace  Mur- 
ray Burt.  AYilliam  Edwards  Leonard,  Patrick  James  Garvey, 
Daniel  Fred  Fowler. 

1895  —  George  Albert  Bacon,  James  Louis  Doherty,  Herbert 
Nelson  Cross,  William  Albert  Leary,  Dexter  Edgar  Tilley,  Wen- 
dell Green  Brownson,  Charles  Harris  Beckwith,  Leonard  Farwell 
Hardy,  Henry  Burt  Montague,  Arthur  Beebe  Chapin,  Franklin 
Arthur  Morris,  Fred  Austin  AVilson,  Clarence  Edward  Spelman. 

1896 — John  Thomas  Moriarity,  Daniel  James  Stapleton, 
William  Arthur  AlcCord,  Edward  A.  AreClintock,  Daniel  M.  Sul- 

(      335      ) 


OLR  COL  MY  AMJ  ITS  PEOPLE 

livan,  Nathan  Prentice  Avery,  James  Watson  Flannery,  Kobert 
Chapin  Parker,  James  John  Sullivan,  Edward  Joseph  Tierney, 
Burt  Harding  Winn,  William  C.  Haywood,  John  Henri  Brown, 
Fred  Porter  Squier,  James  Arthur  Robeson. 

1897— Harold  Phelps  INIoseley,  William  P.  Buckley,  Miles 
Casey,  Samuel  jNIcWhorter,  James  O'Shea,  Richard  Francis 
Twiss,  Stuart  Mill  Robson,  James  Fiske  Hooker. 

1897 — James  ODonnell,  Abraham  Ebenezer  Snow,  Thomas 
J.  Lynch,  John  McKean,  James  Hamilton,  Scott  Adams,  Charles 
Flagg  Spellman,  Clinton  Gowdy,  James  Weston  Carney,  Frank 
Sumner  Rice,  Michael  John  Griffin,  Fred  Fox  Bennett. 

1898— Elva  Hubbard  Young. 

1899  — Charles  L.  Young,  David  Francis  Dillon,  Richard 
James  Talbot,  Wayland  Victor  James,  Harry  Alonzo  Buzzell. 

1900— Harry  Bancroft  Putnam,  Charles  Spellman  Bullard, 
Hartley  Reed  Walker,  AVilliam  Henry  Hawkins,  Edward  William 
Beattie,  jr.,  Robert  Chester  Goodale,  Ernest  Emery  Hobson, 
Freelove  Quincy  Ball,  Arthur  Stewart  Anderson. 

1901— Joseph  Francis  Carmody,  Clarence  JNIills  Seymour, 
Simon  H.  Kugel. 

llie  Hampden  Bar  Association,  under  its  present  form  and 
constitution,  was  organized  in  1864,  although  an  association  less 
formal  in  character  and  without  a  written  record,  dates  back  in 
its  history  to  the  early  years  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Of  the 
purposes,  history  or  traditions  of  the  earlier  organization  we  have 
little  knowledge,  yet  it  is  mentioned  as  a  worthy  institution  in  the 
annals  of  the  old  bar. 

On  October  20,  1864,  at  a  meeting  of  the  bar  held  at  the 
court  house  in  Springfield,  the  Hampden  Bar  association  was  per- 
manently organized,  a  constitution  was  adopted  and  governing 
officers  were  elected.  The  object  of  the  organization,  as  set  forth 
in  its  declaration  of  principles,  was  "to  establish  a  fair  and  uni- 
form rate  of  compensation  for  professional  services ;  to  discoun- 
tenance and  prevent  the  abuse  of  legal  process  by  members  of  the 
bar  or  by  unsuitable  and  unqualified  persons  ;  to  ensure  conform- 
ity to  a  high  standard  of  professional  duty:  and  to  promote  a 
kindly  and  fraternal  feeling  among  those  who  are  engaged  in 
professional  conflict." 

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BENCH  AM)  BAR 

The  first  officers  chosen  were  :  William  G.  Bates,  president ; 
Henry  Morris,  vice-president;  George  B.  ^lorris,  secretary  and 
treasurer ;  Edward  B.  Gillett,  George  M.  Stearns,  Alexander  L. 
Soule,  executive  committee. 

Thus  launched  into  existence,  the  association  entered  upon  a 
career  of  usefulness  under  the  fostering  care  of  president  Bates, 
the  "father"  and  the  historian  of  the  bar;  and,  unlike  the  ma- 
jority' of  organizations  of  its  kind,  the  association  has  continued 
in  existence  to  the  present  time,  although  officers  have  been  in- 
frequently chosen  and  at  times  it  has  appeared  that  dissolution 
was  imminent,  but  upon  the  taking  oft'  of  some  old  professional 
associate  the  surviving  members  always  have  assembled  together 
to  pay  a  last  tribute  of  respect  to  the  memory  of  him  who  has 
been  called,  and  having  laid  their  friend  in  the  grave  they  return 
to  the  appointed  walks  of  life  and  not  infrequently  say  to  one 
another:      "Well,  who  shall  be  next  to  go?" 

The  second  meeting  at  which  officers  were  elected  was  held 
in  March,  1877,  when  William  G.  Bates  was  re-elected  president ; 
Henry  Morris,  vice-president;  Kobert  0.  Morris,  secretary  and 
treasurer;  and  Gillett.  Stearns  and  Soule  constituting  the  execu- 
tive committee,  as  in  1864. 

In  October,  1893,  another  meeting  for  the  election  of  officers 
was  held,  and  it  may  readily  be  seen  by  the  changes  in  the  offi- 
ciary that  the  destroyer  had  not  been  idle.  The  new  officers 
were:  George  D.  Robinson,  president;  Timothy  M.  BroA\Ti, 
vice-president ;  Robert  0.  Morris,  secretary  and  treasurer ;  and 
Edward  H.  Lathrop,  Charles  L.  Long  and  Loranus  E.  Hitch- 
cock, executive  committee. 

In  November,  1896,  Timothy  M.  Brown  was  chosen  presi- 
dent; Charles  L.  Gardner,  vice-president;  Robert  0.  Morris,  sec- 
retary and  treasurer ;  and  Lathrop,  Long  and  Hitchcock,  execu- 
tive committee. 

President  Timothy  ]\I.  Brown  died  in  March,  1897,  upon 
which  vice-president  Charles  L.  Gardner  became  ex-officio  presi- 
dent. 


22-1 


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CHAPTER  XIX 

THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION 

AYlien  we  consider  the  importance  and  elevated  character  of 
the  science  of  medicine— its  object,  the  preservation  of  the  health 
and  lives,  the  healing  of  diseases,  and  the  amelioration  of  the 
physical  and  mental  sufferings  of  our  fellow  human  beings— its 
extent  embracing  a  knowledge  of  all  science,  it  is  evident  that 
medical  education  should  engage  the  earnest  attention  of  the  en- 
tire profession.  The  advances  made  in  all  branches  of  science 
and  especially  in  the  science  of  medicine  during  the  past  century 
have  exceeded  in  extent  and  value  those  of  all  past  ages,  and  it  is 
no  longer  possible  to  compress  its  vast  domain  within  the  narrow 
limits  of  the  ''seven  professorships."  The  present  age  owes  its 
wonderful  progress  to  experimental  and  scientific  research. 

The  daAvning  of  medical  science  Avhicli  now  sheds  its  light 
throughout  the  world  began  with  Hippocrates  nearly  2300  years 
ago.  He  Avrote  extensively,  and  much  of  his  work  was  translated 
and  served  as  the  foundation  for  the  succeeding  literature  of  the 
profession.  He  relied  chiefly  on  the  healing  powers  of  nature, 
his  remedies  being  exceedingly  simple.  He  taught  that  the  peo- 
ple ought  not  to  load  themselves  with  excrements,  or  keep  them 
in  too  long ;  and  for  this  reason  he  prescribed  '  *  meats  proper  for 
loosening  the  belly,"  and  if  these  failed  he  directed  the  use  of 
the  clysters. 

Through  all  the  centuries  from  the  beginning  of  the  Chris- 
tian era  down  to  the  time  of  the  discovery  of  the  circulation  of 
the  blood  by  Harvey,  1619,  medicine  shed  but  a  glimmering  light 
in  the  midst  of  the  darkness  then  enshrouding  the  world,  and  the 

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THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION 

greatest  strides  in  the  advancement  of  the  various  branches  of 
medical  science  have  been  made  in  the  last  one  hundred  years, 
and  most  of  them  may  be  placed  to  the  credit  of  the  last  half 
century.  Among  the  thousands  of  elements  which  comprise  this 
century  of  advancement  mention  will  be  made  of  but  one,  and 
that  among  the  first  discoveries,  the  use  of  anaesthetics,  which  be- 
numb the  nerves  of  sensation  and  produce  a  profound  yet  tran- 
quil state  of  insensibility,  during  which  the  most  formidable 
operation  may  be  performed  while  the  patient  sleeps,  and  the  sur- 
geon is  left  to  the  pleasing  reflection  that  he  is  causing  neither 
pain  nor  suffering. 

There  are  to-day  known  to  botanists  over  140,000  plants,  a 
large  proportion  of  which  is  being  constantly  added  to  our 
already  appalling  list  of  ' '  new  remedies. ' '  Many  of  these  drugs 
possess  little,  if  any.  real  virtue,  except  as  their  sale  adds  to  the 
exchequer  of  some  enterprising  pharmacist.  A  drug  house  in 
Boston  recently  issued  a  circular  in  which  was  advertised  33 
syrups,  42  elixirs,  93  solid  extracts,  150  varieties  of  sugar-coated 
pills,  236  tinctures,  2-45  roots,  barks,  herbs,  seeds  and  flowers,  322 
fluid  extracts,  and  348  general  drugs  and  chemicals.  The  an- 
cients were  not  so  well  supplied  with  drugs.  It  was  a  custom 
among  the  Babylonians  to  expose  the  sick  to  the  view  of  passers- 
by,  in  order  to  learn  of  them  if  they  had  been  afflicted  with  a  like 
distemper,  and  by  what  remedies  they  had  been  cured.  It  was 
also  a  custom  of  those  days  for  all  persons  who  had  been  sick  to 
put  up  a  tablet  in  the  temple  of  Esculapius.  wherein  they  gave 
an  account  of  the  remedies  that  had  restored  them  to  health. 
Previous  to  the  time  of  Hippocrates  all  medicine  was  in  the  hands 
of  the  priests,  and  was  associated  with  numerous  superstitions, 
such  as  s\anpathetic  ointments  applied  to  the  weapon  with  which 
a  wound  had  been  made,  incantations,  charms,  amulets,  the  royal 
touch  for  the  cure  of  scrofula,  human  or  horse  flesh  for  the  cure 
of  epilepsy,  convulsions  treated  with  human  brains. 

While  ali  this  credulous  superstition  of  early  ages,  born  of 
ignorance,  existed  to  a  vastly  large  extent,  it  has  not  been  fully 
wiped  out  by  the  generally  Milvaiiced  education  of  the  present 
day. 

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OUR  COCMY  AXD  ITS  PEOPLE 

There  is,  perhaps,  no  department  of  medicine  at  the  present 
time  more  promising  of  good  results  than  sanitary  science.  While 
physiology  and  pathology  are  making  known  to  us  the  functions 
of  the  human  body  and  the  nature  and  cause  of  disease,  sanitary 
science  is  steadily  teaching  how  the  causes  of  disease  may  be  re- 
moved and  health  thereby  secured.  Progress  during  the  com- 
ing one  hundred  years,  if  only  equal  to  that  of  the  past,  will  more 
than  have  accomplished  great  works  in  the  advancement  of  sani- 
tary science;  but  the  accomplishment  of  this  work  calls  not  only 
for  the  labor  of  the  physician,  but  for  the  intelligent  co-operation 
of  the  people.  If  anything  really  great  is  to  be  done  in  the  way 
of  sanitary  improvement,  and  of  preventing  disease  and  death, 
it  must  be  done  largely  by  the  people  themselves.  This  implies 
that  thej'  must  be  instructed  in  sanitary  science,  must  be  taught 
that  unsanitary  conditions  most  favor  the  origin  of  disease,  how 
disease  is  spread,  and  the  means  of  its  prevention.  If  it  is  true 
that  that  knowledge  is  of  the  greatest  value  which  teaches  the 
means  of  self-preservation,  then  the  importance  of  a  widespread 
knowledge  of  how  to  prevent  disease  and  premature  death  can- 
not be  overestimated. 

But  what  can  be  said  in  these  pages  of  the  medical  profes- 
sion of  Hampden  county— a  profession  which  has  recorded  so 
little  of  its  own  history  ?  True,  there  are  meagre  data  concerning 
the  various  medical  societies,  the  oldest  dating  to  the  year  1840, 
but  what  can  be  said  of  the  profession  previous  to  that  time,  for 
the  city  of  Springfield  dates  its  history  from  1636,  when  William 
Pynchon  and  his  associates  planted  their  famous  colony  on  the 
eastern  bank  of  Connecticut  river. 

Previous  to  the  act  of  1781,  creating  the  INIassachusetts  Med- 
ical society,  there  were  no  regulations  regarding  the  practice  of 
medicine,  and  no  special  standard  of  excellence  or  education  \Yns 
prerequisite  to  admission  to  the  ranks  of  the  profession.  During 
the  colonial  period  under  the  British  dominion  medical  men  were 
few  and  there  were  no  safeguards  to  protect  the  practice :  and  in- 
deed, there  was  little  need  of  legal  strictures  of  any  kind,  as  the 
profession  at  that  time  was  in  no  wise  crowded  and  its  represent- 
atives were  men  of  the  highest  character  and  reputation,  and 
quacks  and  charlatans  were  unknown. 

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TEE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION 

A  century  and  more  ago  physicians  began  practice  under 
many  difficulties.  There  were  few  schools  of  medicine  in  the 
country,  and  then  young  students  could  not  afford  the  expense 
necessary  to  qualify  themselves  for  a  profession  which  promised 
so  little  pecuniary  reward ;  hence  it  was  the  custom  of  the  period 
for  the  aspirant  to  enter  the  office  of  some  practicing  physician 
and  read  medicine  two  or  three  years,  at  the  same  time  to  accom- 
pany his  tutor  in  his  professional  visits  and  learn  his  methods  of 
treatment.  At  the  end  of  his  term  the  young  doctor  would  seek 
some  promising  field  and  begin  practice.  However,  this  disci- 
pline served  a  useful  purpose,  giving  individual  strength,  confi- 
dence and  self-reliance  to  the  physician,  and  a  proper  respect 
for  his  profession  on  the  part  of  those  with  whom  he  was  brought 
into  association.  Frequently  the  doctor  was  chosen  to  places 
of  responsibility  in  public  life.  and.  on  equal  footing  with  the 
parish  minister,  was  one  of  the  most  frequently  consulted  men  in 
his  locality. 

On  November  18,  1781,  the  Massachusetts  Medical  society 
received  its  charter,  with  broad  powers  and  with  authority  to 
grant  licenses  to  practice  medicine  to  the  same  extent  as  was  con- 
ferred by  the  legislature  upon  any  university ;  and  when  Harvard 
college  received  its  charter  a  controversy  arose  between  that  in- 
stitution and  the  society  relative  to  the  right  to  grant  licenses  and 
confer  degrees.  The  matter  was  settled  by  compromise,  yet  we 
understand  that  the  legal  status  of  the  society  was  on  a  plane 
with  that  of  the  university.  A  candidate  who  successfully 
passed  the  censors'  examination,  without  other  eviaence  of  quali- 
fication, was  a  licentiate  and  held  a  position  similar  to  that  in  our 
time  obtained  through  the  authority  of  the  state  board  of  medical 
examiners. 

Tradition  says  that  Dr.  John  Sherman  was  one  of  the 
earliest,  if  not  the  first,  physician  in  what  is  now  Hampden 
county,  and  that  he  was  both  school  teacher  and  doctor  in  Spring- 
field in  1709.  In  1728  Dr.  John  Leonard  is  mentioned  in  the 
records  as  having  received  a  fee  from  the  town  in  payment  for 
medical  attendance  on  an  indigent  patient.  Between  the  years 
1761  and  1783    the   physicians    practicing   in    Springfield  were 

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01' R  COi'XTY  AMJ  ITS  PEOPLE 

Charles  Pynchon,  Edward  Chapin,  John  Yanhorn  and  Timothy 
Cooper.  To  this  list  there  should  be  added  the  name  of  Dr. 
Chaiincey  Brewei-,  who  lived  in  AVcst  Springfield  and  practiced 
in  that  town  and  in  Springfield,  across  the  river,  and  also  of  other 
prominent  early  physicians  in  the  outlying  towns,  of  whom  some 
mention  will  be  made  in  subsequent  paragraphs. 

During  the  period  of  fifty-nine  years  from  17.81  to  1840, 
when  the  Hampden  District  Medical  society  was  incorporated, 
there  Avere  thirty-two  physicians  in  the  county  who  \\'ere  mem- 
bers of  the  State  ]\ledical  society.  They  were  Drs.  Joseph  Pyn- 
chon, Charles  Pynchon.  Joshua  Frost,  George  Frost,  M.  B.  Baker, 
L.  AY.  Belden,  David  Bemis,  Oliver  Bliss,  William  Bridgman, 
Reuben  Champion,  Alonzo  Chapin.  AY.  L.  Fitch,  John  Yanhorn, 
Chauncey  Brewer,  Gideon  Kibbe,  Aaron  King,  S.  Kingsbury, 
Seth  Lathrop,  Jonathan  Shearer.  George  Hooker,  J.  AY.  Brew- 
ster, Bela  B.  Jones,  John  Long,  Leonard  AYilliams,  AY.  Sheldon. 
E.  G.  Uiford,  J.  G.  DeChene,  Lucius  AYright,  John  Stone,  J.  H. 
Flint  and  Samuel  Mather.  Of  these  physicians  there  Avere  sev- 
eral who  were  Avell  known  in  public  and  professional  life  and  who 
had  splendid  abilities  for  the  time  in  which  they  lived.  They 
received  and  imparted  knowledge  through  office  instruction  and 
clinical  observations  made  by  medical  preceptors  on  private 
patients.  It  was  in  this  time  that  students  are  said  to  have 
studied  and  driven  with  their  teachers  in  medicine.  Since  med- 
ical colleges  then  were  in  their  infancy  they  were  unable  to  fur- 
nish excellent  opportunities  for  personal  observations  on  the 
sick,  and  also  were  lacking  in  facilities  for  laboratory  work. 

Reminiscences. — Joseph  Pynchon,  son  of  Col.  John  Pynchon 
and  a  descendant  in  the  fifth  generation  of  the  founder  of  Spring- 
field, Avas  born  in  1705,  in  the  "old  fort"  or  Pynchon  residence 
which  stood  where  now  is  the  Springfield  Fire  and  Alarine  build- 
ing. He  Avas  educated  both  for  the  ministry  and  the  medical 
profession,  and  for  a  time  devoted  himself  to  clerical  Avork,  but 
later  to  the  practice  of  medicine  in  LongmeadoAV.  He  is  recalled 
as  a  man  of  high  character  and  excellent  ability,  and  at  one  time 
was  a  member  of  the  general  court. 

Charles  Pynchon.  brother  of  Joseph,  Avas  born  in  Spring- 
field in  1819,  in  the  Pynchon  residence,  and  spent  the  greater  part 

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THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION 

of  his  life  in  the  town.  All  his  biographers  agree  that  Dr.  Pyn- 
chon  -was  a  man  of  excellent  understanding  and  a  physician  of 
good  repute,  having  a  large  practice,  and  also  that  many  medical 
students  acquired  their  early  professional  training  under  his  per- 
sonal instruction.  His  office  was  on  ]\Iain  street,  the  second 
house  above  Ferry  street.  In  1777  Dr.  Pynchon  was  a  surgeon 
in  the  American  army.      He  died  Aug.  19,  1783. 

Joshua  Frost,  one  of  the  earliest  physicians  of  Springfield, 
Avas  born  in  jNIaine  in  1767,  of  English  parentage.  He  was  edu- 
cated for  his  profession  in  Dartmouth  college  and  Harvard  uni- 
versity, and  in  1796  located  in  Longmeadow  where  he  remained 
a  few  years  and  then  removed  to  Springfield.  He  enjoyed  an 
excellent  reputation  as  a  physician,  and  as  a  citizen  he  was  hon- 
ored with  a  seat  in  the  state  senate.      Dr.  Frost  died  in  1832. 

George  Frost,  son  of  Joshua,  was  born  in  Longmeadow  in 
1800,  and  acquired  his  early  medical  education  under  the  instruc- 
tion of  Dr.  Nathan  Smith,  Avhom  he  accompanied  in  lecturing 
tours.  He  studied  medicine  in  Yale  and  also  in  Bowdoiu,  was 
graduated  at  the  latter  in  1822,  and  began  practice  in  Spring- 
field in  1823.  He  lived  in  the  town  until  his  death,  in  1846.  Dr. 
Frost's  wife  was  a  daughter  of  Col.  Roswell  Lee,  who  for  some 
time  was  commander  at  Fort  Griswold  (New  London,  Conn.) 
during  the  war  of  1812-15. 

Samuel  W.  Belden  was  born  in  1801.  He  pursued  scientific 
and  medical  studies  in  Yale,  graduated  in  1826,  and  began  his 
professional  career  in  Springfield  in  1827.  He  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  State  Medical  society  in  1835,  and  died  in  1839,  aged 
38  years. 

M.  B.  Baker  was  a  graduate  of  Harvard  in  1830,  and  located 
in  Springfield  the  next  year.  He  became  a  member  of  the  State 
Medical  society  in  1836,  and  died  in  1839,  at  the  age  of  33  years. 

David  Bemis  became  a  member  of  the  state  society  in  1832, 
but  of  his  early  life  and  education  we  have  little  knowledge.  He 
practiced  about  twenty-five  years  in  Chicopee,  and  died  in  1852, 
at  the  age  of  fifty-four  years.  At  one  time  Dr.  Bemis  was  presi- 
dent of  the  Hampden  District  Medical  society,  and  is  recalled  as 
one  of  its  most  worthy  members. 

(       343       ) 


01' R  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

Oliver  Bliss  was  made  a  member  of  the  state  society  in  1822. 
He  practiced  for  several  years  iu  Lougmeadow,  and  is  understood 
as  having  descended  from  one  of  the  first  settlers  in  that  vicinity. 
He  died  in  1840,  aged  sixty-eight  years. 

William  Bridgman  was  born  in  1784,  and  was  one  of  the 
board  of  organization  of  the  Hampden  District  Medical  society. 
He  is  remembered  as  one  of  the  leading  physicians  of  his  day  in 
the  vicinity  of  the  county  seat.  He  became  a  member  of  the  state 
society  in  1822,  and  died  in  1864. 

Reuben  Champion  was  one  of  the  foremost  physicians  of  his 
time,  and  was  descended  from  good  old  revolutionary  stock,  his 
grandfather  having  served  as  surgeon  during  the  war,  dying  at 
Ticonderoga  in  1777.  Dr.  Reuben  Champion  acquired  his  early 
education  in  the  old  Westfield  academy,  and  his  medical  educa- 
tion at  Dartmouth  and  also  in  a  school  for  medical  instruction  in 
New  York.  He  began  practice  in  West  Springfield  in  1809,  and 
joined  the  state  society  in  1812.  His  practice  covered  a  period 
of  half  a  century,  and  he  died  in  1865.  In  his  practice  he 
adopted  the  ' '  tonic  treatment ' '  of  fever  cases,  a  theory  then  much 
opposed  by  the  profession ;  but  he  was  a  physician  of  excellent 
reputation,  and  an  upright  and  honored  citizen.  The  civil  list 
shows  that  Dr.  Champion  served  as  state  senator. 

Alonzo  Chapin  appears  on  the  roll  of  the  state  society  in 
1836,  as  a  resident  of  Springfield,  but  few  records  of  his  life's 
work  are  now  obtainable.  He  is  believed,  however,  to  have  been 
descended  from  the  ancestor  of  the  Chapins — Deacon  Samuel 
Chapin,  the  Puritan— whose  statue  adorns  the  library  park. 

W.  L.  Fitch,  of  whom  recollections  are  meager,  joined  the 
state  society  in  1837.  He  practiced  for  a  time  in  Chester  Vil- 
lage, now  Huntington,  and  then  removed  to  Springfield,  where 
he  lived  many  years.      He  died  in  1872,  at  the  age  of  69  years. 

John  Vanhorn  was  one  of  the  old-time  physicians  of  Spring- 
field ;  was  born  in  1726,  graduated  at  Yale  in  1749,  and  joined  the 
state  society  in  1785.  For  nearly  sixty  years  he  practiced  in 
West  Springfield,  and  is  said  to  have  been  a  man  of  more  than 
ordinary  professional  prominence.      He  died  in  1805. 

Chauncey  Brewer  was  another  of  the  old-time  physicians  of 
Springfield,  a  native  of  the  town,  born  in  1743.      He  received  his 

(      344      ) 


THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION 

professional  education  in  Yale  Medical  college,  and  is  remem- 
bered as  a  physician  of  exceptional  strength  for  his  time;  but  he 
is  held  in  especial  remembrance  by  the  profession  on  account  of 
his  faithful  services  in  the  American  army  during  the  revolution. 
He  was  a  student  with  Dr.  Charles  Pynchon  and  began  his  profes- 
sional career  in  West  Springfield,  removing  to  the  east  side  of  the 
river  on  the  death  of  his  old  preceptor  and  occupying  an  office 
about  where  now  is  Cypress  street.  Dr.  Brewer  died  in  1837,  at 
the  age  of  87  years.  Daniel  Chauucey  Brewer,  son  of  Chaun- 
cey,  studied  for  the  medical  profession,  but  soon  afterward  be- 
came partner  with  Dr.  Joshua  Frost  and  carried  on  a  drug  busi- 
ness in  the  store  now  occupied  by  the  firm  of  H.  &  J.  Brewer,  on 
Main  street. 

Gideon  Kibbe  was  a  highly  respected  physician  of  Wilbra- 
ham,  where  he  practiced  for  thirty-seven  years  previous  to  his 
death,  in  1859.    He  became  a  member  of  the  state  society  in  1822. 

Aaron  King,  of  Palmer,  became  a  member  of  the  society  in 
1816,  and  died  in  1861.  For  many  years  he  was  one  of  the  highly 
respected  medical  practitioners  of  the  eastern  part  of  the  county, 
and  he  is  also  remembered  as  having  been  one  of  the  organizers, 
and  at  one  time  president,  of  the  Hampden  district  society.  In 
the  latter  part  of  his  life  Dr.  King  investigated  Homoeopathy, 
and  is  said  to  have  approved  of  some  of  its  principles  and 
methods. 

Samuel  Kingsbury  was  born  in  Tolland,  Conn.,  in  Septem- 
ber. 1782.  and  practiced  medicine  in  Springfield  from  1810  to 
"26.      He  became  a  member  of  the  state  society  in  1816. 

Seth  Lathrop,  son  of  Rev.  Dr.  Joseph  Lathrop,  was  born  in 
the  second  parish  of  Springfield  (West  Springfield),  in  1762,  and 
is  remembered  as  one  of  the  strongest  as  well  as  one  of  the  most 
thoroughly  educated  of  the  old-time  physicians  of  the  county. 
His  practice  was  extensive  and  successful,  and  he  also  had  the 
confidence  and  respect  of  the  people  on  the  east  side  of  the  river. 
He  was  made  a  fellow  of  the  state  society  in  1817,  and  continued 
in  membership  until  his  death  in  1831. 

Jonathan  Shearer,  of  Palmer,  was  boi'n  in  1767,  became  a 
member  of  the  society  in  1811,  and  died  in  1825.      His  home  and 

(      345      ) 


OUR   CUiXTY  AM)  ITS   PEOPLE 

office  were  on  the  Boston  road,  betAveen  what  is  now  Collins  and 
Palmer  stations.  He  was  followed  in  practice  by  his  son,  Marcus 
Shearer,  who  joined  the  district  society  in  1841,  and  died  in  1854. 

George  Hooker  was  born  in  1794,  and  was  admitted  to  fellow- 
ship in  the  state  society  in  1821.  He  practiced  in  Longmeadow 
and  is  remembered  as  a  physician  of  good  repute  and  a  citizen 
of  undoubted  integrity.  Di".  Hooker  died  in  1884,  at  the  ripe  age 
of  90  years. 

Joseph  AV.  Brewster,  of  Blandford,  was  made  a  fellow  of  the 
state  society  in  1804.  He  died  in  1849.  but  of  his  life  and  pro- 
fessional work  we  have  no  reliable  data. 

Leonard  Williams,  of  Chester,  united  with  the  society  in 
1822,  and  became  a  retired  member  in  1827.  Of  his  professional 
career  little  is  noAV  known. 

Bela  Barber  Jones  was  made  a  fellow  in  1822,  and  a  score  of 
years  later  assisted  in  organizing  the  district  society.  He  after- 
ward removed  from  the  state. 

AVilliam  Sheldon  became  a  fellow  in  1811.  and  died  in  1817. 
None  of  his  cotemporaries  are  living,  and  there  is  no  record  of 
his  place  of  residence  or  the  extent  and  character  of  his  practice. 

Edward  (joodrich  Uft'ord,  of  West  Springfield  and  Agawam, 
was  born  in  East  Windsor,  Conn.,  in  1801,  became  a  fellow  of  the 
society  in  1839,  and  died  August  28,  1889.  He  studied  medicine 
with  Dr.  Daniel  Uft'ord  of  AVilbraham  and  also  with  Dr.  Peters 
of  Bolton.  Conn.  He  received  his  degree  from  Yale  and  then 
took  a  post-graduate  course  in  Philadelphia.  He  practiced  for 
a  few  years  in  West  Springfield,  thence  removed  to  South  Hadley, 
but  returned  to  West  Springfield  and  Agawam,  where  he  gained 
an  enviable  standing  in  the  ranks  of  his  profession. 

Lucius  Wright,  once  well  known  in  medical  circles  in  at 
least  three  towns  of  Hampden  county,  and  withal  an  excellent 
physician  of  the  old  school,  was  born  in  1793  and  became  a  mem- 
ber of  the  society  in  1821.  He  began  his  professional  career  in 
Willimansett,  later  practiced  in  Salem  and  Montgomery,  and 
finallj'  located  in  Westfield.  where  he  attained  considerable 
prominence  and  represented  that  town  in  the  general  court. 

John  Stone  was  born  in  Eutland,  Mass.,  in  1763.  He  had 
the  advantages  of  a  good  elementary  as  well  as  medical  educa- 

(      346      ) 


THE  MEDICAL  riiOFESSlOX 

tion,  and  in  his  mature  life  was  known  as  one  of  the  most  genteel 
and  scholarly  professional  men  in  the  community.  He  read 
medicine  with  Dr.  John  Frink  and  began  his  career  in  Green- 
field, removing  thence  to  New  York,  where  he  remained  about  two 
years.  Returning  to  Greenfield,  he  practiced  in  that  tow^n  until 
1819,  and  spent  the  next  ten  years  in  Providence.  He  then  came 
to  Springfield  and  practiced  until  his  death  in  1838.  Dr.  Stone 
is  remembered  as  a  successful  physician  and  one  of  the  few  old- 
time  practitioners  to  acquire  a  competency.  His  membership 
in  the  society  dates  from  1803,  and  his  honorary  degree  of  M.  D. 
was  acquired  from  Williams  college  in  1824. 

John  Long  was  an  early  practitioner  in  that  part  of  West 
Springfield  known  as  Ireland,  where  now  is  the  industrial  city  of 
Holyoke,  but  as  to  when  and  whence  he  came  and  of  the  period 
of  his  residence  there  we  have  no  reliable  data.  He  was  made 
a  fellow  of  the  society  in  1808. 

Levi  W.  Humphreys,  of  SouthAvick,  was  made  a  fellow  in 
1822,  and  in  1840  was  one  of  the  organizers  of  the  district  society. 
He  died  in  1850,  and  is  remembered  as  a  good  country  prac- 
titioner, 

Joseph  Henshaw  Flint,  who  was  made  a  fellow  of  the  state 
society  in  1822,  was  born  in  Leicester,  Worcester  county,  April 
20, 1786,  and  began  his  professional  career  in  Petersham.  Later 
on  he  located  temporarily  in  Northampton,  and  removed  thence 
to  Springfield  in  1837.  Three  years  later  he  was  one  of  the 
organizers  of  the  district  society,  and  for  several  years  after  was 
one  of  its  most  prominent  members.  Dr.  Flint  died  in  1846.  He 
was  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  successful  physicians  of  the 
town  during  his  brief  residence  here,  but  his  family  name  after- 
ward came  into  especial  prominence  in  the  medical  world  through 
the  remarkable  success  of  his  son  (by  his  first  marriage).  Dr. 
Austin  Flint,  of  New  York,  whose  writings  and  lectures  on  med- 
ical subjects  have  since  been  standard  authority  with  the  profes- 
sion. 

James  Holland,  who  became  a  fellow  in  the  society  in  1822, 
was  one  of  the  prominent  early  physicians  in  the  western  part  of 
what  now  is  Hampden  county.      He  was  born  in  1762,  and  ac- 

(      347      ) 


OUR  COiXTY  AXD  H\S  PEOPLE 

quired  his  medical  education  with  Dr.  Brewster,  of  Becket.  He 
practiced  for  a  time  in  Chester  village,  now  Huntington,  and  in 
Worthington  and  located  permanently  in  Westfield  in  1815 ;  and 
he  died  in  that  town  in  1840.  Dr.  Holland  is  recalled  as  a  phy- 
sician of  far  more  than  ordinary  prominence  for  his  time  and 
opportunities ;  and  that  he  loved  the  work  of  his  profession  is 
evidenced  in  the  fact  that  four  of  his  sons  became  physicians,  and 
each  of  them  attained  an  excellent  standing  in  the  community  in 
which  he  lived. 

Samuel  Mather  was  one  of  the  pioneers  of  the  state  society, 
having  been  made  a  fellow  in  1783,  and  he  also  was  one  of  the 
early  physicians  in  our  county.  The  surname  Mather  always 
has  been  associated  with  the  best  history  of  this  region,  and  it  is 
regretted  that  Ave  have  no  knowledge  of  the  early  life  and  career 
of  this  old-time  practitioner, 

John  Appleton  is  mentioned  in  the  records  of  the  state  so- 
ciety as  a  fellow  thereof,  and  also  is  elsewhere  mentioned  as  one 
of  the  organizers  of  the  district  society  and  its  first  secretary, 
1840-42. 

It  is  not  claimed  in  these  reminiscences  of  early  practitioners 
that  mention  is  made  of  all  the  physicians  of  the  county  for  the 
period  indicated,  for  undoubtedly  the  actual  members  of  the 
state  society  were  largely  outnumbered  by  those  who  were  not 
members  of  that  body.  Indeed,  many  of  the  leading  physicians 
of  the  period  are  known  not  to  have  affiliated  with  the  society, 
not  that  they  were  opposed  to  its  principles  or  purpose,  or  doubt- 
ful of  its  permanency,  but  rather  that  they  saw  no  immediate 
benefit  in  such  membership,  hence  did  not  avail  themselves  of  its 
privileges. 

The  old  society,  however,  served  a  useful  purpose  in  promot- 
ing social  intercourse  among  its  fellows,  and  it  was  the  first  legis- 
lative step  in  the  direction  of  safeguarding  the  profession  in  the 
state.  In  1803  an  amendatory  act  extended  the  powers  of  the 
society  and  authorized  the  formation  of  subordinate  societies,  the 
jurisdiction  of  which  should  be  limited  to  counties  or  districts, 
and  which  should  be  conducted  as  auxiliary  to  the  older  organiza- 
tion. Members  of  the  state  society  were,  and  still  are,  eligible 
candidates  for  admission  to  the  district  societies. 

(      348      ) 


TEE  3JED1CAL  PROFESSION 

For  more  than  a  century  the  Connecticut  valley  in  Massachu- 
setts has  been  noted  for  the  strength  of  its  medical  profession,  but 
nowhere  in  the  entire  region  has  there  developed  greater  mental 
and  moral  worth  than  within  the  limits  of  our  own  county.  From 
the  time  of  the  pioneer  doctor  in  the  little  hamlet  of  Springfield 
on  the  bank  of  the  Connecticut  river  to  the  beginning  of  the 
twentieth  century,  throughout  all  the  changes  of  two  hundred 
and  fifty  years,  each  succeeding  generation  of  the  profession  has 
been  represented  by  men  of  high  character,  splendid  mental  at- 
tainments and  commendable  ambition.  Some  of  them  have  at- 
tained positions  of  prominence  in  the  medical  world,  while  others 
have  sought  and  added  civil  and  political  honors  to  their  profes- 
sional achievements.  But  in  glancing  backward  over  the  long 
list  of  hundreds  of  physicians  w^ho  have  devoted  at  least  a  part  of 
their  lives  and  energies  to  professional  pursuits  in  the  county  the 
number  "not  approved"  by  their  medical  brethren  and  the  gen- 
eral public  has  been  exceedingly  small.  To  be  sure,  in  a  common- 
wealth whose  scheme  of  government  is  framed  on  broad  and  al- 
most unlimited  principles  of  freedom  of  personal  action,  charla- 
tans occasionally  have  found  a  temporary  abiding  place  in  the 
ranks  of  the  profession,  but  while  the  legitimate  practice  of  medi- 
cine has  not  always  been  safe-guarded  against  the  incursions  of 
quacks,  a  discriminating  public  has  driven  them  from  the  field ; 
and  now  even  the  remote  possibility  of  a  pretender  is  precluded 
through  the  establishment,  in  1894,  of  the  state  medical  board  of 
registration,  before  whom  all  candidates  must  appear  before  a 
license  to  practice  will  issue.  All  legitimate  schools  of  medicine 
now  are  recognized,  and  each  applicant  is  subjected  to  rigid  ex- 
amination before  a  license  is  granted. 

However,  let  us  again  glance  back  into  the  early  years  of  the 
last  century  and  note  briefly  something  of  the  lives,  character  and 
works  of  those  who  attained  prominence  in  the  ranks  of  the  pro- 
fession, although  none  appear  to  have  been  affiliated  with  any 
medical  society. 

"Tlie  Drs.  Holland  of  Westfield"  was  for  many  years  a  con- 
cise way  in  which  the  profession  generally  made  allusion  to  sev- 
eral respected  associates  who  long  were  prominent  characters  in 

(      349      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

the  history,  medical  and  otherwise,  of  that  part  of  the  county. 
In  an  earlier  paragraph  mention  is  made  of  Dr.  James  Holland, 
who  became  a  member  of  the  state  society  in  1822,  yet  none  of  the 
worthy  practitioner's  sons,  four  of  whom  entered  the  profession, 
appear  to  have  become  fellows  in  that  body.  Of  these  sons 
Homer  Holland  was  born  in  Blandford,  was  educated  in  Yale 
and  Berkshire  Medical  schools,  located  in  Westfield  and  practiced 
in  that  town  and  vicinity  from  1842  to  1856.  Eugene  Holland 
and  William  Holland,  sons  of  Homer,  likewise  entered  the  profes- 
sion, and  Henry  Holland,  another  son,  has  been  engaged  in  the 
drug  business  in  Westfield  more  than  sixty  years. 

Virgil  Holland,  second  son  of  James,  was  born  in  1803,  and 
acquired  his  early  medical  instruction  from  his  father.  He  gave 
promise  of  a  splendid  rise  in  professional  work,  but  his  career  was 
prematurely  cut  off  by  death  in  1832. 

James  Holland,  jr.,  was  born  in  1815,  studied  medicine  with 
his  father,  and  was  a  graduate  of  the  medical  department  of  the 
University  of  New  York.  He  began  practice  in  Westfield  in 
1843,  and  for  the  next  half  century  there  was  no  more  prominent 
figure  than  he  in  professional  circles  in  western  Hampden  county. 
He  was  an  earnest  worker,  a  close  and  careful  student,  and  of 
course  he  attained  success,  not  only  in  professional  life,  but  also 
in  the  social  and  public  aft'airs  of  the  town.  Dr.  Charles  Jenkins 
Holland,  another  son  of  James,  senior,  Avas  educated  for  the  pro- 
fession, and  practiced  in  Chester  Village,  now  Huntington ;  but 
he  died  comparatively  young,  at  the  age  of  36  years. 

Jeft'erson  Church  was  a  native  of  Middlefield,  Hampshire 
county,  born  in  1802,  and  in  1825  was  graduated  at  Berkshire 
Medical  college.  He  practiced  one  year  in  Peru,  Berkshire 
county,  and  then  removed  to  Springfield,  where  the  best  years  of 
his  life  were  spent,  and  where  he  attained  a  standing  of  promi- 
nence in  the  ranks  of  the  profession,  not  alone  as  a  practitioner 
but  as  publisher  in  1850,  in  association  with  Dr.  Edgar  Seeger, 
of  "Tully's  iNtateria  Medica,"  a  work  which  for  a  long  time  was 
regarded  as  standard  authority.  He  also  took  an  earnest  interest 
in  public  affairs  and  Avas  known  as  an  intense  anti-slavery  advo- 
cate.    Dr.  Church  died  in  Springfield  in  1885.  aged  83  years. 

(      350      ) 


THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION 

Edward  Seeger,  eo-worker  Avith  Dr.  Church  in  publishing 
Dr.  Tully's  medical  manuscripts,  was  born  in  Northampton  in 
1811,  and  was  of  German  ancestry.  He  graduated  at  JefiPerson 
Medical  college  in  1832,  and  at  once  located  for  practice  in 
Springfield.  Thereafter  he  Avas  a  conspicuous  figure  in  local 
professional  and  political  circles  for  thirty-four  years,  until  his 
death  in  1866.  Politically  Dr.  Seeger  affiliated  with  the  aboli- 
tionists and  free-soilers,  and  was  one  of  their  ablest  exponents  of 
I)arty  principles.  He  also  was  a  logical  writer  on  medical  and 
political  subjects,  and  as  a  practitioner  he  had  few  peers  in  the 
county  seat.  Dr.  Seeger 's  first  wife  was  a  sister  of  the  late 
Homer  Foot. 

W.  L.  Loring,  a  graduate  of  Harvard  ]\Iedical  school,  was  a 
practitioner  in  Springfield  something  like  five  years,  beginning 
about  1825 :  but  Dr.  Loring.  while  a  man  of  excellent  capacity, 
unfortunately  did  not  enjoy  a  lucrative  practice,  hence  to  re- 
plenish his  purse  he  had  recourse  to  an  unlawful  expedient, 
"body  snatching,''  disposing  of  his  "subjects"  by  sale  to  various 
medical  institutions.  For  this  fiagrant  violation  of  law  and  pro- 
priety the  doctor  was  arrested  and  brought  to  bar.  tried,  found 
guilty  and  sentenced  to  pay  a  fine  of  .$500.  Soon  afterward  he 
removed  from  this  locality,  and  thenceforth  the  dead  in  the 
Springfield  graveyards  were  permitted  to  rest  in  peace. 

James  Swan,  a  graduate  of  Harvard  and  Jefferson  Medical 
colleges,  located  in  Springfield  in  1834  and  continued  in  active 
practice  until  1836,  when  he  died.  He  was  a  physician  of  excel- 
lent repute,  a  man  of  fine  social  qualities  and  a  respected  citizen. 
Outside  of  professional  work  he  was  a  firm  advocate  of  temper- 
ance and  also  was  an  ardent  Odd  Fellow. 

Henry  Bronson,  who  i)racticed  a  few  years  in  West  Spring- 
field, came  to  that  town  directly  from  his  medical  course  in  Yale, 
having  graduated  in  1827.  Three  years  later  he  removed  to  Al- 
bany, where  he  gained  celebrity  as  a  writer  on  scientific  and  med- 
ical subjects  and  relinquished  active  practice  in  1860.  In  1872 
he  was  called  to  a  professorship  in  the  medical  department  of 
Yale. 

Calvin  AYheeler  was  an  early  practitioner  in  Feeding  Hills 
parish  when  that  region  was  a  part  of  West  Springfield.     He 

(      351      ) 


OUR  COLMY  A.\D  ITS  FEOl'LE 

served  as  surgeon  in  the  American  army  during  the  second  war 
■with  Great  Britain,  and  is  remembered  as  a  good  physician  for  his 
time,  although  his  methods  at  times  were  crude.     He  died  in  1861. 

C'liauneey  Belden,  who  practiced  in  West  Springfield  and  its 
vicinity  for  ten  years  beginning  in  1832,  Avas  a  graduate  of  Yale 
Medical  school  in  1829,  and  after  leaving  college  he  was  for  a  time 
an  assistant  in  the  Hartford  retreat  for  insane  persons.  In  con- 
nection with  professional  work  Dr.  Belden  gave  special  attention 
to  scientific  studies  and  was  regarded  as  a  man  of  wide  under- 
standing in  all  professional  and  social  circles.  He  removed  to 
South  Hadley  in  1842,  and  died  there  three  3'ears  afterward. 
Herbert  C.  Belden,  who  began  practice  in  West  Springfield  in 
1871,  and  was  a  graduate  of  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Sur- 
geons of  New  York,  was  a  son  of  Chauncey  Belden. 

William  Tully,  whose  portrait  accompanies  this  brief  sketch, 
was  one  of  the  most  distinguished  medical  practitioners  and 
scholars  who  ever  honored  the  profession  with  a  presence  and 
residence  in  this  county.  Yet  he  Avas  little  understood  and  still 
less  appreciated,  for  he  lived,  practiced  and  taught  at  least  half  a 
century  in  advance  of  his  time.  Later  on,  in  comparatively  re- 
cent years,  many  of  the  principles  he  advanced  during  the  first 
half  of  the  past  century  have  come  to  be  recognized  truths  with 
the  world  at  large,  and  " Tully 's  powders"  even  now  are  regard- 
ed as  a  sovei'eign  remedy  with  certain  persons.  Having  been 
given  the  advantages  of  an  excellent  elementary  education,  Will- 
iam Tully  began  the  study  of  medicine  in  1807  under  the  instruc- 
tion of  Dr.  Coggswell.  of  Hartford,  and  in  the  following  year  he 
attended  lectures  in  the  medical  department  of  Dartmouth. 
Later  on  his  attention  was  chiefly  devoted  to  increasing  his  un- 
derstanding of  elementary  medicine,  after  which  he  was  licensed 
to  practice  by  the  president  and  fellows  of  the  Connecticut  Medi- 
cal society.  In  1819  he  received  the  honorary  Yale  degree  of 
Doctor  of  Medicine.  In  1811  he  began  practice  in  Enfield,  the 
next  year  removed  to  Milford,  and  thence  in  1816  to  ]\Iiddletown. 
In  1820  he  published  an  articl^  on  the  "Ergot  of  Rye,"  and  in 
1823,  in  association  with  Dr.  Thomas  INIiner,  he  issued  a  volume 
entitled  ''Essays  on  Fevers  and  other  .Medical  Subjects."     This 

(      352      ) 


William  Tully,  M.  D. 


23-1 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

publication  called  forth  much  comment  on  the  part  of  the  profes- 
sion, but  afterward  the  teachings  of  his  work  received  the  indorse- 
ment of  his  medical  brethren.  In  1826  he  removed  to  Albany, 
N.  Y.,  where  he  practiced  with  marked  success,  and  at  the  same 
time  he  delivered  lectures  in  the  medical  school  at  Castleton,  Ver- 
mont. While  in  Albany  he  published  a  prize  essay  on  "  Sanguin- 
aria  Canadensis,"  a  scientific  and  scholarly  paper  on  indigenous 
materia  medica,  and  thereby  added  laurels  to  his  wreath  of  fame. 
In  1829  he  removed  to  New  Haven  and  succeeded  Dr.  Ives  in  the 
chair  of  materia  medica  in  Yale,  at  the  same  time  continuing  his 
lectures  in  Castleton,  but  as  his  income  from  these  sources  Avas 
quite  small  he  published,  in  1832,  an  exhaustive  paper  on  "Nar- 
cotine,  and  Sulphate  of  Morphine, ' '  which  attracted  much  atten- 
tion in  medical  circles. 

Dr.  TuUy  came  to  Springfield  in  1851,  and  from  that  time  to 
his  death  in  1859  he  w^as  a  prominent  figure,  devoting  himself  to 
active  practice  and  also  to  the  authorship  of  various  works  on 
medical  subjects.  Drs.  Church  and  Seeger  published  in  two 
large  volumes  his  work  on  ''Materia  Medica,"  and  "Pharma- 
cology and  Therapeutics,"  and  while  his  manuscripts  were  not 
fully  completed,  the  work  was  regarded  as  standard  authority. 
His  knowledge  of  botany  was  extensive  and  also  was  very  correct, 
and  he  Avas  an  expert,  almost  without  a  rival,  in  organic  and  phar- 
maceutical chemistry.  With  physiology  and  pathology  he  was 
fully  familiar,  and  thorough  knowledge  of  Latin  and  Greek  were 
his  special  acquisitions.  Dr.  Noah  Webster  and  Prof.  Goodrich 
depended  upon  his  assistance  in  furnishing  definitions  in  anat- 
omy, physiology,  medicine  and  botany  for  their  dictionary  publi- 
cations of  the  period.  As  a  man  his  character  was  superlatively 
positive,  often  unfortunately  so,  for  his  mind  was  so  far  above 
that  of  ordinary  persons  that  he  could  not  please  the  public, 
hence  he  was  not  a  popular  physician  with  the  masses.  Dr. 
Bronson  once  said  of  him  :  ' '  Sum  up  all  his  imperfections  and 
deduct  them  from  his  merits  and  there  is  enough  left  to  make  a 
man— a  whole  man  and  a  great  man." 

Among  the  other  old-time  medical  practitioners  of  the  coun- 
ty previous  to  the  incorporation  of  the  district  medical  society, 

(      354      ) 


THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION 

and  none  of  whom  were  members  of  that  body  nor  of  the  state 
society,  there  may  be  remembered  the  names  of  Dr.  Caswell,  of 
Ludlow,  who  enjoyed  an  excellent  reputation  as  a  country  doc- 
tor; Dr.  Marcus  Cady,  of  South  Wilbraham,  and  his  brother, 
Henry  Cady,  of  Monson,  both  physicians  of  good  repute ;  Dr.  Me- 
Kinstry,  of  Monson ;  Dr.  Johnson,  of  Granville ;  Ezra  Osborne,  of 
Springfield,  who  practiced  from  1815  to  1830;  Dr.  Swan,  who 
lived  and  practiced  on  "Springfield  hill,"  as  that  locality  then 
was  known ;  Samuel  Belden,  who  was  here  about  1840 ;  Dr.  Spar- 
hawk,  whose  period  of  practice  was  about  1820 ;  Ebenezer  Jones, 
of  West  Springfield,  who  removed  to  the  eastern  part  of  the 
state;  Timothy  Horton,  a  most  excellent  man,  but  who,  being 
wealthy,  practiced  for  very  small  fees,  much  to  the  discourage- 
ment of  his  professional  associates ;  Dr.  Dunham,  of  West  Spring- 
field, of  whom  little  is  now  known ;  Edward  McCrea,  who  settled 
in  Agawam  in  1832,  and  died  in  1859 ;  Sumner  Ives,  who  was 
born  in  the  ''Ireland  parish"  as  the  north  part  of  West  Spring- 
field was  once  known,  and  who  practiced  in  that  locality  from 
1826  to  1831,  when  he  removed  to  Suffield;  Solomon  Chapman, 
who  succeeded  Dr.  Ives  in  1832,  and  who,  in  turn,  was  succeeded 
in  1850  by  Dr.  Lawson  Long. 

In  the  same  manner  also  may  be  mentioned  the  names  of 
Edward  Strong,  graduate  of  Harvard  Medical  school  in  1838,  who 
retired  from  active  professional  work  in  1845  and  became  associ- 
ated with  the  department  of  vital  statistics  in  Boston;  Nathaniel 
Downs,  who  settled  in  West  Springfield  in  1857  and  soon  after- 
ward removed  to  the  eastern  part  of  the  state ;  George  Filer,  of 
Westfield,  one  of  the  early  physicians  of  that  town,  who  is  said 
to  have  settled  there  about  1666,  but  who  subsequently  joined  the 
Quaker  colony  on  Long  Island ;  Israel  Ashley,  of  Westfield, 
descendant  of  one  of  the  colonists  of  Springfield,  a  graduate  of 
Yale  in  1730,  and  one  of  the  best  physicians  of  his  day ;  William 
Atwater,  son  of  Rev.  Noah  Atwater  of  Westfield,  a  graduate  of 
Yale  and  a  practitioner  in  the  town  previous  to  1830 ;  Samuel 
Mather,  of  Westfield,  who  practiced  about  the  time  of  the  revolu- 
tion ;  Joshua  Sumner,  of  Westfield,  who  came  about  the  time  of 
the  revolution  and  was  noted  for  his  skill  in  surgery;  Lucius 

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OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

AVright,  one  of  Westfield's  most  scholarly  old-time  physicians,  a 
native  of  Avhat  now  is  Chieopee,  and  who  died  at  the  age  of  more 
than  ninety  years. 

Westfield,  like  Springfield,  was  noted  as  the  abiding-place  of 
many  old-time  physicians,  and  in  addition  to  those  previously 
mentioned  we  may  recall  the  names  of  Dr.  M.  L.  Robinson,  one 
of  the  few  men  of  medicine  who  was  born  and  educated  in  New 
York  state  and  subsequently  came  to  practice  in  the  locality; 
Simeon  Shurtleff,  a  native  of  Blandford,  a  pupil  of  Dr.  Cooley's 
famous  school  in  Granville,  and  a  graduate  of  Amherst :  William 
Orton  Bell,  a  native  of  Chester  and  a  graduate  of  the  Berkshire 
Medical  school ;  Ellery  C.  Clarke,  a  graduate  of  the  University  of 
Vermont,  and  a  surgeon  in  the  army  during  the  war  of  1861-5. 

In  Southwick  we  find  the  names  of  Isaac  Coit,  who  is  said  tx) 
have  been  the  first  phj'sician  here,  and  a  patriot  of  the  revolu- 
tion ;  Drs.  Jonathan  Bill,  J.  W.  Rockwell  and  a  Dr.  Norton ;  also 
Levi  W.  Humphreys,  the  latter  a  charter  member  of  the  district 
society  and  one  of  its  most  earnest  advocates.  In  Granville  we 
find  the  names  of  Drs.  Vincent  Holcomb,  and  his  son,  Hubert 
Holcomb,  the  latter  an  army  surgeon  and  afterward  in  practice 
in  Blandford ;  Calvin  King,  who  succeeded  Dr.  Holcomb :  Dr. 
Barlow  who  removed  to  New  York  and  became  a  convert  to  Homoe- 
opathy; Dr.  Dwight,  who  died  about  twenty-five  years  ago:  Dr. 
Johnson,  who  succeeded  Dr.  Dwight ;  Dr.  Jesse  Bigelow,  who  is 
said  to  have  been  the  pioneer  physician  here.  The  names  of  Drs. 
C.  W.  Bartlett,  Edward  P.  Mountain  and  Herbert  G.  Rockwell 
are  associated  with  Granville  history. 

Up  in  the  mountainous  regions  of  the  western  part  of  the 
county,  in  Chester,  the  profession  Avas  represented  many  years 
ago  by  such  men  as  Dr.  David  Shepard,  who  was  here  previous  to 
the  revolution ;  "William  Holland  and  Martin  Phelps,  the  latter 
the  successor  of  the  former  and  a  prominent  figure  in  church  and 
democratic  political  circles:  Anson  Boies,  a  native  of  Blandford: 
Dr.  Ballard,  successor  to  Dr.  Boies,  and  who  Avas  in  turn  succeed- 
ed by  Dr.  DeWolf ;  Ebenezer  Emmons,  physician  and  geologist, 
and  later  professor  of  chemistry  in  Williams  college  :  Asahel  Par- 
menter,  son  of  Deacon  Parmenter  and  who  afterward  removed  to 

(      356      ) 


TEE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION 

PeiiiLsylvaiiia :  Joseph  C  Aljbott,  who  died  comparatively  young; 
Dr.  Crossett;  Dr.  Noah  IS.  Bartlett;  H.  S.  Lucas,  a  physician  of 
more  than  ordinary  reputation,  and  who  combined  knowledge  of 
geology  with  that  of  medicine ;  and  also  Drs.  Hall,  Wright  and 
Taylor,  each  of  whom  once  was  in  practice  in  that  town.  In 
Blandford  one  of  the  very  first  physicians  was  Dr.  Ashley,  as 
early  as  17-15,  and  after  him  came  Joseph  W.  Brewster,  Silas  P. 
Wright  and  William  B.  Miller,  the  latter  having  removed  to 
Springfield  about  1870. 

In  Wilbraham  we  learn  from  authentic  sources  that  the  phy- 
sicians in  earlier  times  were  Drs.  John  Stearns,  Gordon  Percival, 
Samuel  F.  Merrick  (a  revolutionary  patriot),  Judah  Bliss  (about 
1800  j,  Abiah  Southworth,  Converse  Butler,  Luther  Brewer, 
Jacob  Lyman,  Elisha  Ladd,  Gideon  Kibbe,  Jesse  W.  Rice  (a  much 
respected  and  influential  citizen  as  well  as  an  excellent  physi- 
cian), Edwin  Thayer,  Charles  Bowker,  Stebbins  Foskit,  Marcus 
Cady  (in  South  Wilbraham),  Abiel  Bottom,  William  B.  Carpen- 
ter, John  Goodale,  Daniel  Ufford,  P^dwin  McCray.  In  Wales  the 
succession  is  about  as  follows :  James  Lawrence,  1746-78 ;  Dud- 
ley Wade,  1779-88 ;  Abel  Sherman,  1783-86 ;  Jeremiah  Round, 
1787-89 ;  David  Young,  1790-1802 ;  Ferdinand  Lethbridge,  1805- 
11;  Thaddeus  Fairbanks,  1812-15;  Daniel  Tilfany,  1812-22; 
Aaron  Shaw,  1813-45 ;  John  Smith,  1815-65. 

In  Holland  the  profession  was  early  represented  by  Thomas 
AVallis  (1786),  Seth  Smith,  Ichabod  Hyde  (1812),  David  B. 
Dean,  Joshua  Richardson,  Chileab  B.  Merrick,  Josiah  Converse, 
Abiel  Bottom,  Josiah  G.  AVallis,  the  latter  now  in  practice. 

The  Longmeadow  succession  includes,  among  others,  the 
names  of  Charles  Pynchon,  Joshua  Frost,  Oliver  Bliss,  Edwin 
McCray,  Rial  Strickland,  George  Hooker,  Thomas  L.  Chapman, 
R.  P.  Markham,  Eleazer  S.  Beebe,  John  A.  McKinstry. 

In  Monson  the  list  includes  the  names  of  Joseph  Grout  and 
Dr.  Anderson,  about  1785 ;  Ede  Whittaker,  1790-1840,  and  Eph- 
raim  Allen  as  his  cotemporary;  Oliver  McKinstry,  1820-45; 
Reuben  Gardner,  about  1840 :  and  also  Drs.  Ware,  Cullen  and 
Haywood,  Isaac  Carpenter,  Alvin  Smith,  Homer  A.  Smith,  Henry 
Cady,  :\larshal]  and  David  Calkins,  George  E.  Fuller,  F.  AV.  Ellis, 
Charles  W.  Jackson  and  Harry  A.  Merchant. 

(      357      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

The  Chicopee  list  of  old-time  physicians  is  somewhat  imper- 
fect, yet  among  them  may  be  recalled  the  names  of  Amos  Skeele 
(1804-43),  David  Bemis  (1832-52),  J.  R.  Wilbur,  William  Jack- 
son Sawin,  Alvord  Norfolk,  George  AVashington  Denison  (1846- 
73),  AYilliam  George  Smith. 

In  the  Ludlow  general  list  we  find  the  names  of  Aaron  John 
Miller  (born  1750,  served  during  the  revolution,  and  died  1838), 
Francis  Percival,  Benjamin  Trask  (1777),  Dr.  AVood,  Simpson 
Ellis,  David  Lyon,  Sylvester  Nash,  Philip  Lyon,  Drs.  Tainton, 
Sutton,  Hunger  and  Hamilton,  Estes  Howe,  Elijah  Campbell, 
AV.  B.  Alden,  Dr.  Bassett,  R.  G.  English,  AA^illiam  B.  Miller; 
Henry  M.  T.  Smith,  Robert  AA^ood,  Dr.  King,  Benj.  K.  Johnson, 
T.  AY.  Lyman. 

In  Palmer  the  list  is  somewhat  imperfect  yet  from  extant 
records  we  glean  the  names  of  Jonathan  Shearer,  Alarcus  Shearer, 
Aaron  King,  Alanson  Moody,  Dr.  AAliite,  Dr.  Barron,  Dr.  Cum- 
mings,  AA".  H.  Stowe,  J.  K.  AA^arren,  A.  C.  Downing,  Amasa  Davis, 
Jason  B.  Thomas,  F.  AA^.  Caulkins,  Dr.  Blair,  AA^illiam  AValradt, 
and  Silas  Ruggies. 

In  the  histories  of  the  several  towns  further  allusion  is  made 
to  early  and  present  physicians.  Had  early  legislation  regarding 
the  profession  been  mandatory  instead  of  optional  in  respect  to 
membership  in  the  state  and  district  societies,  our  record  could  be 
more  complete ;  and  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  names  of 
hundreds  of  former  physicians  are  noted  in  these  pages,  doubtless 
many  more  are  omitted  owing  to  the  absence  of  reliable  data  con- 
cerning them. 

In  1850  the  profession  in  Springfield  Avas  well  represented, 
there  being  in  practice  at  that  time  twenty-seven  physicians, 
representing  three  schools.  According  to  the  village  directory  of 
that  year,  the  physicians  then  here  were  Nathan  Adams,  Edmund 
C.  Allen  (homoeopath),  Alfred  Booth,  William  G.  Breck,  WiU- 
iam  Bridgman,  C.  C.  Chaffee,  Jefferson  Church,  AYilliam  H. 
Cleaveland,  R.  G.  W.  English,  AY.  L.  Fitch,  Henry  F.  Gardner 
(botanic  physician),  James  H.  Gray,  Ira  Hatch,  J.  G.  Holland, 
John  Hooker,  Charles  P.  Kibbe  (botanic  physician),  Alfred 
Lambert,   AYarren   McCray,   Alexander   S.   AlcClean,   Amos  N. 

(      358      ) 


THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION 

Pierce,  Joseph  C.  Pynehon,  George  F.  Ramsdell,  Edwin  Seeger, 
James  M.  Smith,  Ebenezer  Snell  (Springfield  water  cure), 
George  W.  Swazey  (homoeopath),  Henry  R.  Vaille. 

In  the  same  year,  by  an  act  of  the  legislature  passed  April 
15,  the  Springfield  Medical  school  was  incorporated  by  William 
B.  Calhoun,  Reuben  A.  Chapman  and  James  A.  Smith,  who  with 
their  associates  were  authorized  to  establish  and  maintain  a  school 
of  medicine  in  the  city,  and  also  were  authorized  to  hold  real  and 
personal  estate  to  the  amount  of  $100,000,  the  same  to  be  devoted 
exclusively  to  the  purposes  of  a  medical  school.  This  commend- 
able enterprise  certainly  fell  into  proper  hands,  and  while  at  the 
time  there  was  a  demand  for  an  institution  of  such  character  in 
the  town,  certain  events,  in  part  political  in  their  nature,  made 
the  project  undesirable,  hence  the  subject  soon  afterward  was 
dismissed  from  the  public  mind, 

HAMPDEN  DISTRICT  MEDICAL  SOCIETY 

In  explanation  of  the  absence  of  much  that  is  interesting  in 
the  early  history  of  this  organization,  it  may  be  said  at  the  outset 
that  all  records  of  its  transactions  previous  to  May  30,  1875,  were 
destroyed  in  a  fire  which  took  place  on  that  date.  The  society 
itself  was  brought  into  existence  May  30,  1840,  at  a  time  when  the 
famous  "log  cabin"  presidential  campaign  was  at  its  height  in 
New  England,  and  indeed  throughout  the  land,  and  the  journal- 
istic as  well  as  the  public  mind  was  so  fully  occupied  with  affairs 
political  that  a  minor  event,  such  as  the  organization  of  a  district 
medical  society,  was  permitted  to  pass  without  mention. 

According  to  the  regularly  printed  pamphlets  of  the  organ- 
ization, the  Hampden  District  Medical  society  was  instituted  May 
30,  1840,  under  a  charter  granted  by  the  councilors  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts Medical  society  to  Joseph  H.  Flint,  William  Bridgman, 
George  Hooker,  Aaron  King,  Bela  B.  Jones,  Reuben  Champion, 
John  Appleton  and  L.  W.  Humphreys,  each  of  whom  is  men- 
tioned in  an  earlier  part  of  this  chapter.  They  were  the  incorpo- 
rators and  original  members  of  the  society,  and  appear  to  have 
been  its  only  members  during  the  first  year.  Dr.  Champion  was 
the  first  president,  Dr.  Bridgman  the  first  vice-president,  and  Dr. 
Appleton  the  first  secretary  and  treasurer. 

(      359      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

From  the  time  of  its  incorpoi-ation  to  the  present  day  the 
district  medical  society  has  maintained  a  healthful  and  progres- 
sive existence.  The  act  of  the  legislature  authorizing  such  organ- 
izations at  the  hands  of  the  state  society  Avas  passed  in  1803.  but 
the  profession  in  this  county  was  slow  to  avail  itself  of  the  privi- 
lege oft'ered,  and  when  that  stej)  was  in  fact  taken  the  affairs  of 
the  new  society  were  placed  on  a  permanent  basis  and  its  con- 
tinued existence  was  fully  assured.  Neither  the  laws  of  the  com- 
monwealth nor  the  authority  of  the  state  society  compel  member- 
ship on  the  part  of  physicians  of  any  school,  yet  the  representa- 
tives of  the  "regular"  school  have  availed  themselves  of  its  bene- 
fits. Between  1840  and  1850  twenty-seven  names,  in  addition  to 
the  incorporators,  were  placed  on  the  rolls,  and  between  1850  and 
1860  fourteen  other  names  were  enrolled.  During  the  first  sixty 
years  of  its  history,  the  aggregate  membership  in  the  society  was 
more  than  250  physicians,  making  no  account  of  practitioners 
under  any  other  school  than  those  usually  termed  "regulars." 

As  provided  in  the  by-laws  the  district  medical  society  con- 
sists of  all  the  fellows  of  the  state  medical  society  residing  in 
Hampden  county,  and  none  other.  It  is  the  duty  of  each  member 
to  attend  all  the  meetings  of  the  society,  "and  to  communicate 
any  instructive  case  that  may  occur  in  his  practice,  any  useful 
discovery  that  he  may  make  in  medicine  or  surgery  or  the  allied 
sciences,  and  any  invention  that  may  have  practical  application 
in  the  same."  In  their  relations  with  each  other,  Avith  their 
patients,  the  profession  at  large,  and  the  public,  members  are 
guided  by  the  code  of  ethics  of  the  iMassachusetts  Medical  society. 
By  general  and  proper  compliance  Avith  these  requirements  the 
real  purposes  of  the  state  and  district  societies  are  carried  out  for 
the  Avelfare  of  the  profession. 

Since  its  organization  in  1840  the  officers  (presidents,  vice- 
presidents,  secretaries  and  treasurers)  of  the  Hampden  District 
Medical  society  have  been  as  folloAvs  : 

Pi'esidents  —  Hewhen  Champion,  1840-41:  Aaron  King,  1841- 
42  :  Joseph  TI.  Flint,  1842-43  :  David  Bemis.  1843-45  :  John  Smith, 
1845-46:  William  Bridgman.  1846-48:  Silas  P.  Wright.  1848-49: 
Jesse  W.  Rice,  1849-51 :  James  M.  Smith,  1851-54  ;  William  Bridg- 

(      360      ) 


THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION 

man,  1854-57 ;  Nathan  Adams,  1857-59  ;  Alfred  Lambert,  1859-60 ; 
P.  LeB.  Stickney,  1860-62;  E.  G.  Pierce,  1862;  Cyrus  Bell,  1863- 
66  ■  David  P.  Smith,  1866-67 ;  William  G.  Breek,  1867-69 ;  A.  S. 
McCleau,  1869-71;  V.  L.  Owen,  1871-72 ;  Thomas  L.  Chapman, 
1872-74:  W.  J.  Swain,  1874-76;  David  Clark,  1876-77:  H.  G. 
Stickney,  1877-78;  Sanford  Lawton,  1878-80:  Harlow  Gamwell, 
1880-82:  S.  W.  Bowles,  1882-84:  George  S.  Stebbins,  1884-85; 
A.  F.  Reed,  1885-86;  L.  F.  Hnmeston,  1886-87:  Theodore  F. 
Breck,  1887-89;  S.  D.  Brooks,  1889-90;  Frederick  W.  Chapin, 
1890-92:  G.  W.  Davis,  1892-93;  George  C.  McClean,  1893-94; 
Wallace  H.  Deane.  1894-95 ;  E.  E.  Maryott,  1895-96 ;  George  E. 
Fnller,  1896-97 ;  J.  C.  Hubbard,  1897-98 ;  Daniel  E.  Keefe,  1898- 
99;  William  Holbrook,  1899-1900;  Lorenzo  Gibbs,  1900-1901; 
Lawton  S.  Brooks,  1901 — . 

Vice-Presidents— ^iWi^m  Bridgman,  1840-41;  T.  B.  Bridg- 
man,  1848-49 :  Thaddens  K.  DeWolf,  1857-58 ;  Thomas  L.  Chap- 
man, 1858-59 ;  P.  LeB.  Stickney,  1859-60 ;  D.  P.  Smith,  1860-61 ; 
Cyrns  Bell,  1862-63  ;  Alfred  Lambert,  1864-66  ;  George  G.  Tucker, 
1866-67 :  A.  S.  McLean,  1867-69 :  AVilliam  J.  Swain,  1869-70 :  V. 
L.  Owen,  1870-71:  Thomas  L.  Chapman,  1871-72;  A.  R.  Rice, 
1872-74 ;  H.  G.  Stickney,  1874-76 :  George  S.  Stebbins,  1876-77 ; 
G.  W.  Davis,  1877-78;  Harlow  Gamwell,  1878-80;  S.  W.  Bowles, 
1880-82 ;  George  S.  Stebbins,  1882-84 ;  A.  F.  Reed,  1884-85 ;  Theo- 
dore F.  Breck,  1885-86;  G.  C.  McClean,  1886-87 ;  J.  J.  O'Connor, 
1887-89 :  Frederick  AV.  Chapin,  1889-90 ;  G.  W.  Davis,  1890-92 ; 
George  E.  Fuller,  1892-93 ;  W.  H.  Deane,  1893-94;  E.  E.  Maryott, 
1894-95  :  George  E.  Fuller,  1895-96  ;  William  Holbrook,  1896-97  ; 
Daniel  E.  Keefe,  1897-98:  L.  J.  Gibbs,  1898-1900:  Lawton  S. 
Brooks,  1900-01 ;  Stephen  Andrew  Mahoney,  1901 — . 

Secretaries  and  Treasurers — John  Appleton,  1840-42:  Will- 
iam A.  Davis,  1842-45 ;  J.  G.  Holland,  1845-47 ;  Thomas  L.  Chap- 
man, 1847-49  :  Alfred  Lambert,  1849-54 ;  William  G.  Breck,  1854- 
56 :  George  A.  Otis,  1856-61 :  A.  S.  McClean,  1861-63 :  William  G. 
Breck,  1863-64;  H.  G.  Stickney,  1864-66;  A.  R.  Rice,  1866-69; 
George  F.  Jelly,  1869  ;  Charles  P.  Kemp,  1869-71 ;  George  S.  Steb- 
bins, 1872-76;  Frederick  W.  Chapin,  1876-80;  George  C.  Mc- 
Clean, 1880-85 :  G.  L.  Woods,  1885-89 :  J.  T.  Herrick,  1889-93 ; 

(      361      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AXD  ITS  PEOPLE 

Everett  A.  Bates,  1893-94;  A.  J.  Dunne,  1894-95;  C.  H.  Calkins, 
1895-96 ;  AValter  R.  AVeiser,  1896-97 ;  H.  W.  VanAllen,  1897-99 ; 
Frederick  B.  S^veet,  1899-1901 ;  Harry  C.  Martin,  1901 — . 

The  following  chronological  list  shows  the  names  of  members 
of  the  society  with  the  year  of  admission  and  place  of  residence : 

1840— Joseph  Henshaw  Flint,  William  Bridgman,  George 
Hooker,  Aaron  King,  Bela  B.  Jones,  Reuben  Champion,  John 
Appleton,  Levi  W.  Humphreys,  charter  members. 

1841 -James  H.  Gray,  Springfield;  Thaddeus  K.  DeWolf, 
Chester;  AV.  B.  Alden,  Ludlow;  Jehiel  Abbot,  Westfield;  Silas. 
AVright,  Blandf  ord ;  John  Smith,  Wales ;  Marcus  Shearer, 
Palmer;  Aaron  Shaw,  Wales;  George  Seymour,  Springfield; 
Jesse  AV.  Rice,  Wilbraham;  Asa  Lincoln,  Brimfield;  Ebenezer 
Knight,  Brimfield ;  James  M.  Smith,  Springfield. 

1842— Amasa  Davis,  Palmer;  Artemus  Bell,  Feeding  Hills;. 
Alvin  Smith,  Monson. 

1843  — Samuel  Doolittle  Brooks,  Springfield. 

1844— Benjamin  H.  Ellis,  Springfield ;  Cyrus  Bell,  Feeding- 
Hills  ;  T.  H.  Stewart,  Springfield. 

1845— John  R.  AYilbur,  Chicopee  Falls;  Henry  Robert 
Vaille,  Springfield. 

1846 — G.  W.  Denison,  Chicopee;  Thomas  Luce  Chapman,. 
Longmeadow  ;  H.  Champlin,  AVest  Springfield  ;  AVilliam  AV.  Bill- 
ings, Springfield. 

1847— Nathan  Adams,  Springfield;  Pierre  LeBreton  Stick- 
ney,  Springfield. 

1852-AV.  0.  Bell,  AVestfield. 

1854— AVilliam  Gilman  Breck,  C.  C.  Chaffee,  David  Paige 
Smith,  all  of  Springfield  ;  AA'illiam  George  Smith,  Chicopee  ;  E.  G. 
Pierce,  Holyoke  ;  AA'illiam  Holbrook,  Palmer. 

1855— R.  G.  English,  Springfield;  A.  S.  McClean,  Spring- 
field ;  George  Grenville  Tucker,  AVestfield ;  G.  A.  Otis,  U.  S.  navy. 

1857— James  Alilton  Foster,  Springfield. 

1858- J.  T.  Skinner,  Springfield ;  L.  E.  Marsh,  AA^ales. 

1860-L.  E.  White,  Springfield. 

1862— Alarshall  Calkins,  A^arillas  Linus  Owen.  H.  H.  AYar- 
ner,  all  of  Springfield. 

(      362      ) 


THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION 

1863  — Stephen  Wallace  Bowles,  Springfield. 

1864— Horatio  Gates  Stickney,  Springfield. 

1866— G.  T.  Ballard,  Hampden;  Theodore  Frelinghuysen 
Brack,  Springfield ;  C.  F.  Coleman,  Springfield ;  Harlow  Gamwell, 
AVestfield;  "William  Wallace  Gardner,  Springfield;  Charles  P. 
Kemp,  Springfield;  Albert  Raymond  Rice,  Springfield;  Joseph 
William  Rockwell,  Sonthwick;  W.  J.  Sawin,  Chicopee  Falls; 
James  Henry  AVaterman,  AVestfield. 

1867— E.  C.  Clark,  Westfield ;  Edgar  Leroy  Draper,  Hol- 
yoke  ;  James  John  0  'Connor,  Holyoke  ;  Charles  F.  Starkweather, 
Westfield  ;  George  Stanford  Stebbins,  Springfield. 

1869— AA' illiam  Ahern,  David  Clark,  both  of  Springfield. 

1870— John  Hooker,  Springfield ;  James  Raymond  Brown, 
Springfield ;  George  Washington  Davis,  Holyoke. 

1874— Lawton  Stickney  Brooks,  Sanford  Lawton,  jr., 
Stephen  Franklin  Pomeroy,  all  of  Springfield;  Andrew  Fair- 
field Reed,  Holyoke. 

1875— Frederick  AA'ilcox  Chapin,  George  Chester  McLean,  of 
Springfield ;  Francis  Fnllam  Parker,  Chicopee. 

1876— AA^alter  Jenks  Norfolk,  AVestfield. 

1877— Charles  AVesley  Bowen,  AA^estfield;  AA^allace  Harlow 
Deane,  Springfield. 

1878— H.  U.  Flagg,  Mitteneague. 

1879— James  AVilson  Hanniim,  Ludlow;  Charles  Parker 
Hooker,  Springfield;  Angelo  Orin  Squier,  Springfield;  EdAvin 
Darius  Hutchinson,  AVestfield. 

1880— George  Dresser,  Chicopee;  Frederick  AVarren  Ellis, 
Alonson ;  George  Ephraim  Fuller,  Alonson ;  AVilliam  Holbrook, 
Palmer ;  AVilliam  Michael  Edward  Mellen,  Chicopee ;  M.  M.  Met- 
vier,  Holyoke. 

1881-Josiah  Clark  Hubbard,  Holyoke. 

1882— Judson  Worthington  Hastings,  Feeding  Hills. 

1883— John  S.  Bagg,  Springfield;  Edgar  Clarence  Collins, 
Springfield ;  Frank  Holyoke,  Holyoke ;  Alfred  C.  Downing, 
Palmer ;  Locero  Jackson  Gibbs,  Chicopee  Falls ;  Alexander 
Spear  McLean,  Springfield, 

1884— Daniel  Francis  Donaghue,  Holyoke;  AA^alter  Anson 
Smith,  Springfield, 

(      3G3      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

1885— Erastiis  Edgar  Maryott,  John  Morgan,  James  E. 
Marsh,  Seraph  Frissell,  Walter  Henry  Chapin,  Joseph  Thomas 
Herrick,  all  of  Springfield. 

1886— AVilliam  Henry  Andrews,  Ira  Clark  Hill,  Daniel  Ed- 
ward Keefe,  William  Henry  Pomeroy,  all  of  Springfield ;  Payson 
Jonathan  Plagg,  Mitteneague. 

1887  — Edwin  Boardman  Adams,  Phebe  Ann  Sprague,  Sarah 
Mann  Wilbur,  Edward  Hunt  Gviild,  all  of  Springfield;  Joseph 
H.  Palardy,  Holyoke ;  Julia  Maria  Patten,  Holyoke ;  W.  H.  Dean, 
Blandford ;  Thomas  Henry  Tracy,  AVestfield. 

1888— Alexander  John  Dunne,  Catherine  Maloney  Kennedy, 
of  Springfield ;  Stephen  Andrew  IMahoney,  Ella  Maxfield  Davis, 
both  of  Holyoke ;  Owen  Copp,  Monson. 

1889  — Luther  Halsey  Gulick,  Ralph  Holland  Seelye,  Everett 
Alanson  Bates,  all  of  Springfield. 

1890— AVillard  Crafts  Crocker,  Philip  Kilroy,  of  Springfield; 
Lauriston  AI.  Berry,  Chicopee  Falls. 

1891  — Delia  Lncretia  Chapin,  Edward  Olin  Robinson, 
Springfield. 

1892  — Carl  Addison  Allen,  Holyoke;  Robert  Parker  Marr 
Ames,  Springfield ;  Charles  AVilliam  Jackson,  JNIonson ;  Otis 
Hiland  Kelsey,  Springfield;  Joseph  Thomas  Pero,  Indian 
Orchard;  Robert  Valentine  Sawin,  Brimfield;  Edward  Howran 
Tierney,  Holyoke;  Harvey  AYard  VanAllen,  Springfield;  Fred- 
erick A.  A¥ard,  Willimansett. 

1893— AA^arren  Perkins  Blake,  Springfield;  AVilliam  Howard 
Bliss,  Three  Rivers ;  AVilliam  AVallace  Broga,  Springfield ;  George 
Henry  Clark,  Holyoke;  Herbert  Clark  Emerson,  Springfield: 
Erskine  Erasmus  Hamilton,  Springfield ;  Robert  Joseph  Mans- 
field, Springfield;  Howard  Eugene  AVilson,  Chester;  AVilliam 
Norwood  Suter,  Springfield ;  George  Lyman  Taylor,  Holyoke. 

1894— AVilliam  Chester  Billings,  Charles  Henry  Bowen,  Dan- 
iel Joseph  Brown,  Cheney  Hosmer  Calkins,  AAHlliam  James  Chis- 
holm,  Charles  Francis  Joseph  Kennedy,  Belle  Joanne  Piatt 
AVhite,  AValter  Rui)ert  AVeiser,  George  Dake  AVeston.  all  of 
Springfield. 

1895- George  AVashington  Chaml)er]ain.  Springfield  ;  Joseph 
M.  Collin.  Chicopee  Falls;  Arthur  Llewellyn  Damon.  AVilbraham; 

(      364      ) 


THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION 

Charles  John  Downey,  Mitteneagiie ;  Ernest  A.  Gates,  Spring- 
field ;  Frederick  Eugene  Hopkins,  Springfield ;  Angenette  Fowler 
Noble,  Westfield;  Frederick  Benoni  Sweet,  Springfield;  Horace 
Green  Webber,  Wilbraham. 

1896— Dudley  Carleton,  Springfield;  Edward  B.  Hodskins, 
Springfield;  James  William  Holland,  Westfield;  James  S.  Mc- 
Laughlin, Westfield;  James  VanWagner  Boyd,  Springfield. 

1897  — Orlando  R.  Blair,  Springfield;  Jesse  L.  Bliss,  Hol- 
yoke ;  Ralph  Carleton,  Springfield ;  George  Healy  Davis,  Spring- 
field; Stephen  Joseph  Dunn,  Springfield;  Richard  G.  Eaton, 
Holyoke;  Clarence  E.  Hewitt,  Springfield;  Vincent  Joseph 
Irwin,  Springfield ;  William  Chase  Leary,  Springfield,  John 
Joseph  McCabe,  Holyoke;  Henry  Alvin  INIerchant,  Monson; 
Louis  A.  Prefontaine,  Springfield ;  Abram  Case  Williams, 
Springfield ;  George  L.  Woods,  Springfield. 

1898— Jeremiah  C.  Anthony,  Springfield;  Edward  W. 
Brown,  Springfield ;  William  H.  Davis,  Holyoke ;  George  Herbert 
Jones,  Westfield ;  Edward  Joseph  INIahoney,  Holyoke ;  Homer  T. 
Porter,  Blandford;  Sidney  R.  JNIarvin,  Springfield;  John  James 
O'Connor,  Holyoke;  Joseph  Henry  Potts,  Holyoke;  Ellsw^orth  F. 
Ross,  Wales ;  Jacob  Philip  Schneider,  Palmer ;  Arthur  B.  Weth- 
erell,  Holyoke;  John  Nicholas  Coghlan,  Holyoke;  Flora  E.  Frost, 
Springfield. 

1899  — Frank  Henry  Haskins,  Charles  Francis  Lynch,  An- 
thony Leopold  Brown,  Harry  C.  Martin,  Simeon  James  Russell, 
Robert  Hamilton  McNair,  Mortimer  Joseph  Stoddard,  Charles  R. 
Chapman,  George  Hardy  Finch,  all  of  Springfield. 

1900-Frank  Rufus  Searles,  Springfield. 

1901  — Samuel  D.  Miller,  Three  Rivers;  Joseph  N.  Boyer, 
Springfield ;  Frederick  S.  Ward,  Springfield. 

Having  in  a  preceding  part  of  this  chapter  devoted  some 
attention  to  reminiscences  of  the  older  members  of  the  profession 
in  the  county,  who  -were  and  others  who  were  not  united  with  the 
state  society,  it  is  proposed  in  closing  this  article  to  make  some 
special  allusion  to  the  more  prominent  members  of  the  district 
society  whose  life  work  is  closed. 

Thaddeus  K.  DeWolf,  of  Chester,  was  for  many  years  re- 
garded as  one  of  the  leading  medical  practitioners  in  the  county, 

(      365      ) 


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Dr.  Thaddeus  K.  De  Wolf 


THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION 

and  although  a  country  doctor  he  nevertheless  was  frequently 
called  into  counsel  with  the  more  widely  known  physicians  of 
the  municipalities,  and  by  them  was  held  in  high  esteen.  Dr. 
DeWolf  was  born  May  18,  1801,  studied  medicine  in  Northern 
New  York  and  received  his  degree  at  the  Castleton  Medical  col- 
lege. He  began  his  career  in  Connecticut,  and  in  1832  located  at 
Chester  Centre,  where  he  soon  built  up  an  extensive  practice. 
He  was  identified  with  several  medical  organizations  and  socie- 
ties, and  in  his  own  town  served  as  member  of  the  school  commit- 
tee, justice  of  the  peace,  and  also  was  elected  to  the  lower  house 
of  the  general  court.  He  died  in  1890,  aged  89  years,  then  being 
the  senior  member  of  the  district  society.  His  son,  Oscar  C. 
DeWolf,  also  entered  the  profession  and  now  is  in  practice  in 
London,  England.  His  daughter,  Sarah,  married  the  late  Dr. 
Harlow  Gamwell,  of  Westfield. 

James  JNIorven  Smith,  for  twelve  years  the  acknowledged 
head  of  the  medical  profession  in  Hampden  county  and  one  of 
the  most  distinguished  physicians  of  his  time  in  New  England, 
was  born  in  Hanover,  N.  H.,  in  1806,  the  son  of  Dr.  Nathan 
Smith,  who  was  an  eminent  physician  and  a  medical  lecturer  and 
author  of  wide  repute.  James  M.  Smith  graduated  at  Yale, 
located  in  Westfield  in  1830,  practiced  in  that  town  until  1838, 
when  he  removed  to  Baltimore,  Md,  In  1841  he  came  to  Spring- 
field and  engaged  in  professional  work  until  the  time  of  his  death 
in  a  railway  disaster  at  Norwalk,  Conn.,  in  1853.  He  is  well 
remembered  by  many  of  our  older  citizens,  and  recollections  of 
his  professional  life  are  treasured  memories  ^^dth  them.  He,  in 
association  with  Reuben  A.  Chapman  and  AVilliam  B.  Calhoun, 
conceived  the  idea  of  establishing  a  medical  school  in  Springfield, 
to  which  reference  is  made  in  a  preceding  paragraph, 

Henry  R.  Vaille  was  a  native  of  Vermont,  born  in  Marlboro 
in  1809.  He  was  graduated  at  "Williams  college  in  1835,  and 
soon  afterward  became  the  first  (and  the  last)  principal  of  the 
town  school  in  School  street  in  Springfield,  which  institution  was 
in  operation  only  a  short  time.  He  then  turned  his  attention  to 
medicine  and  pursued  a  course  of  reading  with  Dr.  Joshua  Frost, 
later  attended  the  Pittsfield  Medical  institute,  and  finally  fin- 

(      367      ) 


4 

A 

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1 

Henry  R.  Vaille,  M.  D. 


TRE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION 

islied  his  uiedical  education  iu  Paris.  He  began  practice  in 
Longmeadow,  but  upon  the  death  of  his  old  preceptor  he  suc- 
ceeded to  the  practice  of  the  latter  in  Springfield.  His  profes- 
sional life  was  abundantly  successful  and  in  his  prime  his  prac- 
tice was  far  greater  than  that  of  any  other  physician  in  the  city. 
At  one  time  during  the  war  of  1861-5  he  was  iu  the  service  of  the 
Christian  commission,  and  in  the  fall  of  1863  he  spent  some  time 
in  the  hospitals  at  Middletown,  Md.,  after  the  battles  of  South 
Mountain  and  Antietam.  Dr.  Vaille  died  July  15,  1885.  He  is 
remembered  as  a  popular  and  skillful  physician,  thorough  in 
every  professional  work,  and  having  an  especial  regard  for  the 
interests  and  comfort  of  all  with  whom  he  was  brought  into  asso- 
ciation. 

Pierre  LeBreton  Stickney,  whose  professional  life  in  this 
county  was  spent  in  the  towns  of  West  Springfield,  Chicopee  and 
Springfield,  was  born  in  Newburyport,  May  19,  1814,  the  son  of 
Capt.  David  and  Elizabeth  LeBreton  Stickney.  He  prepared 
for  college  in  Bradford  and  Phillips  Andover  academies  and 
graduated  at  Dartmouth  in  1839.  His  medical  education  was 
acquired  in  Jefferson  Medical  college  (Phila.),  where  he  received 
his  degree  in  1842.  He  settled  in  West  Springfield  in  1845  and 
removed  thence  to  Indiana  in  1851.  Three  years  later  he  re- 
turned east  and  located  in  Chicopee,  where  he  practiced  with 
unvarying  success  until  1870,  when  he  came  to  Springfield,  his 
subsequent  home.  He  died  November  5,  1887,  having  spent 
nearly  forty  3'ears  of  his  active  professional  life  in  this  vicinity. 
He  was  held  in  especial  regard  by  the  profession,  to  whom  his 
worth  was  fully  known.  On  the  occasion  of  his  death  the  dis- 
trict medical  society  expressed  its  estimate  of  him  as  "one  who 
ever  maintained  the  honor  and  worked  for  the  interests  of  legiti- 
mate medicine  in  opposition  to  every  form  of  empiricism." 

John  Hooker,  during  his  active  life  a  prominent  figure  in 
professional,  political  and  social  circles  in  Springfield,  was  a 
native  of  Charlton.  Mass.,  bora  January  30,  1817.  His  father 
was  a  carpenter  and  joiner  by  trade,  and  his  mother,  Polly  Wins- 
low,  was  a  direct  descendant  of  Kenelmn  Winslow,  a  Puritan 
who  came  to  America  in  the  Mayflower  in  1620.     At  the  age  of 

24-1  (      369      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

sixteen  years  John  began  to  learn  the  trade  of  his  father,  but 
having  soon  afterward  determined  to  fit  himself  for  the  practice 
of  medicine,  he  became  a  student  under  Dr.  Lamb,  of  Charlton. 
He  took  his  degree  from  the  Berkshire  Medical  school  in  Pitts- 
field.  At  the  time  of  the  "gold  fever"  in  California  he  went 
from  Worcester  to  New  York  with  the  intention  to  sail  for  the 
Pacific  slope,  and  to  that  end  procured  a  passage  ticket.  How- 
ever, he  suddenly  changed  his  mind  and  having  disposed  of  his 
ticket  at  a  good  premium  he  came  to  Springfield  and  opened  an 
office  Avhere  now  stands  the  city  hall;  and  when  that  property 
was  sold  to  the  city  he  removed  to  Elm  street  where  he  practiced 
for  ten  years,  until  he  secured  the  Lawton  property  on  Maple 
street,  where  he  lived  for  several  years.  Later  on  he  lived  at  No. 
183  State  street  and  remained  there  until  his  death,  July  11, 
1892,  aged  75  years.  In  every  sense  Dr.  Hooker  was  a  self-made 
man,  having  educated  himself  and  worked  out  his  own  career 
witho^^t  other  aid  than  his  own  determination  and  perseverance. 
As  a  physician  he  was  held  in  high  esteem  throughout  the  city, 
and  as  a  public-spirited  citizen  he  frequently  was  nominated  for 
office.  In  1870  he  was  a  member  of  the  board  of  aldermen  and  in 
1875  was  a  city  physician.  Previous  to  1870  he  was  a  democrat, 
but  af tenvard  he  was  allied  to  the  republican  party.  During  the 
later  years  of  his  life  he  relinquished  much  of  his  practice  to  his 
son,  Charles  P.  Hooker,  and  gave  himself  to  the  rest  and  social 
enjoyment  of  the  associations  of  the  Winthrop  club. 

William  Oilman  Breck,  whose  splendid,  striking  personality 
for  so  many  years  made  him  an  attractive  figure  in  Springfield 
social  circles,  and  who  also  enjoyed  the  reputation  of  being  one 
of  the  leading  physicians  and  surgeons  in  the  entire  Connecticut 
valley  region,  was  born  in  Franklin  county,  Vermont,  in  Novem- 
ber, 1818,  and  died  in  Chicopee  while  on  a  professional  visit  to 
Vicar-General  Healy,  on  January  22,  1889.  When  quite  young 
he  removed  with  his  parents  to  Ohio,  and  acquired  his  elementary 
education  in  the  famous  school  at  Oberlin,  and  also  in  Harvard 
university,  where  he  was  graduated.  He  attended  medical  lec- 
tures in  New  York  city  and  in  1844  began  his  professional  career 
in  New  Orleans.     Two  years  later  he  came  to  Springfield,  and 

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THE  MEDICAL  PEOEESSION 

for  the  next  forty-three  years  was  an  active  factor  in  medical  and 
business  circles.  For  a  time  he  practiced  as  senior  partner  in 
the  firm  of  Breck  &  Gray.  During  the  war  of  1861-65  he  was 
sent  to  the  front  by  Governor  Andrew  as  consulting  surgeon, 
and  Avas  present  at  several  memorable  battles.  His  knowledge  of 
medicine  was  thorough  and  as  a  surgeon  his  skill  was  known  fai 
beyond  the  limits  of  his  county.  For  thirty  years  he  was  surgeon 
for  the  Boston  &  Albany  and  the  New  York,  New  Haven  &  Hart- 
ford railroad  companies.  But  outside  of  his  professional  life 
Dr.  Breck  Avas  deeply  interested  in  the  growth  and  prosperity  of 
Springfield  and  was  thoroughly  loyal  to  its  institutions,  taking 
an  especial  interest  in  the  Avork  of  the  city  hospital.  He  also  Avas 
one  of  the  pioneers  in  the  development  of  Round  Hill,  and  built 
the  first  residence  in  that  noAV  desirable  locality.  An  idea  of  the 
high  estimate  in  Avhich  Dr.  Breck  Avas  held  by  the  people  of 
Springfield  is  furnished  by  the  folloAving  extract  from  the  resolu- 
tions adopted  by  the  district  medical  society  at  the  next  meeting 
after  his  death:  "Whereas,  his  good  counsel  and  especially  his 
leading  surgical  ability  entitle  him  to  a  large  and  a  lasting  place 
in  our  memory,  be  it  resolved  by  the  members  of  the  Hampden 
district  medical  society,  that  Ave  Avill  endeavor  to  fill  this  A^acancy 
in  our  ranks  by  the  perseverance  and  devotion  to  the  profession 
manifested  by  our  deceased  brother. ' ' 

Thomas  Luce  Chapman,  AAdio  AA^as  A'irtually  retired  from 
active  professional  Avork  Avhen  he  removed  from  LongmeadoAV  to 
Springfield  to  live  Avith  his  father-in-law,  the  late  Marvin  Cha- 
pin,  Avas  born  in  Pittsfield  in  1817,  and  acquired  his  early  medi- 
cal education  in  the  Berkshire  Medical  institute.  Through  his 
early  association  Avith  Dr.  Brooks  he  was  led  to  enter  the  pro- 
fession, and  it  Avas  a  fortunate  choice,  for  he  became  in  every 
respect  a  competent  and  honorable  physician,  and  one  AA'ho  en- 
joyed a  large  practice  and  Avide  social  acquaintance.  He  settled 
in  LongmeadoAv  in  1842  and  for  the  next  thirty  and  more  years 
(except  a  short  time  spent  in  California  for  the  benefit  of  his 
health)  devoted  his  energies  to  professional  AA'ork  and  to  the 
several  other  enterprises  AAdth  AA^hich  he  Avas  identified.  He  AA-as 
secretary  and  treasurer  of  the  district  medical  society  in  1847-49, 

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OrK  COUMY  AXD  ITS  PEOPLE 

vice-president  in  1871-72,  and  president  in  1872-74.  Dr.  Chap- 
man is  remembered  as  a  large-hearted  and  public-spirited  citizen, 
especiall}^  kind  to  the  poor,  and  interested  in  all  worthy  charities. 
The  Springfield  Home  for  Aged  AVomen  was  founded  chiefly 
through  his  endeavors.  Politically  he  was  a  republican  and  was 
in  the  state  senate  in  1864.  Dr.  Chapman  died  August  20,  1889, 
and  at  the  next  succeeding  meeting  of  the  district  medical  society 
one  of  the  resolutions  then  adopted  declared:  "AYhile  we  sub- 
missively bow  to  the  Supreme  Will,  we  recognize  the  loss  of  one 
who  unselfishly  gave  his  life  to  the  amelioration  of  human  suffer- 
ings, and  Avhose  gentle  virtues  and  manly  qualities  will  always 
live  in  our  remembrance. ' ' 

Nathan  Adams  was  for  many  years  a  familiar  figure  in  med- 
ical circles  in  Springfield,  although  the  complete  success  of  his 
career  as  a  physician  was  somewhat  marred  bj'  the  effects  of  an 
unfortunate  accident  which  impaired  his  general  health.  He 
was  born  May  6,  1813,  and  was  graduated  from  the  medical  de- 
partment of  Yale  in  1836.  In  1844,  after  six  years  of  hospital 
practice  in  New  York,  he  settled  in  Springfield,  and  soon  attained 
a  prominent  standing  in  the  ranks  of  the  profession.  In  1856  he 
was  elected  to  the  common  council.  In  1865  an  accident  com- 
pelled him  to  give  up  practice  tempoi-arily.  after  which  he  trav- 
elled extensively  and  lived  elsewhere  than  in  Springfield.  In 
1876  he  returned  to  the  city  and  ten  years  later  bought  the  manor 
house  and  property  in  Ingersoll's  grove.  Dr.  Adams  died  Octo- 
ber 2,  1888,  while  temporarily  residing  with  his  daughter  in  Mai'- 
blehead. 

Harlow  Gamwell,  late  of  AYestfield.  was  born  in  Washington, 
Mass.,  in  1834,  the  son  of  Martin  (iamwell,  a  patriot  of  the  revo- 
lution. Harlow  acquired  his  early  medical  education  in  the 
Berkshire  Medical  college,  where  he  graduated  in  1858,  and 
began  his  professional  career  in  Huntington  in  1859.  In  1861 
he  was  appointed  assistant  surgeon  of  the  2d  Mass.  cavalry,  serv- 
ing in  that  capacity  fourteen  months,  when  he  was  made  surgeon 
of  the  5th  cavalry.  Just  before  the  close  of  the  war  ill-health 
compelled  him  to  resign  his  commission,  upon  which  he  returned 
to  Huntington,  and  thence  removed  to  Westfield  in  1873.     Here 

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THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION 

he  afterward  lived  and  died,  his  professional  life  having  been  a 
complete  success,  while  socialh^  he  enjoyed  the  respect  and  es- 
teem of  the  entire  townspeople.  His  practice  was  varied  and 
extensive,  and  in  whatever  capacity  he  was  called  he  acquitted 
himself  with  honor.  Dr.  Gamwell  died  August  11.  1898.  He 
was  twice  married,  his  second  wife  being  a  daughter  of  Dr.  Thad- 
deus  K.  DeWolf. 

Yarillas  L.  Owen,  for  many  years  a  physician  of  excellent 
standing  in  Springfield,  was  born  in  1825,  and  died  in  1897.  He 
was  educated  in  old  Chester  academy  and  the  medical  depart- 
ment of  Harvard,  graduating  at  the  latter  in  1852.  He  came 
into  medical  practice  well  equipped  for  hard  work.  On  the  occa- 
sion of  his  death  the  resolutions  adopted  by  the  members  of  the 
district  medical  society  said  of  Dr.  Owen:  "That  the  society  of 
which  he  was  for  many  years  a  member,  actively  and  usefully, 
hereby  expresses  its  deep  sense  of  the  loss  in  him  of  a  most  agree- 
able companion  and  faithful  co-worker." 

David  Paige  Smith,  son  of  Dr.  James  Morven  Smith,  was 
born  in  Westfield,  October  1,  1830,  graduated  at  Yale  college  in 
1851,  and  at  Jefferson  Medical  college  in  1853.  With  a  splendid 
mental  equipment  and  the  fortunate  prestige  of  being  the  son  of 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  physicians  which  the  county  ever 
had  known,  the  young  doctor  came  into  practice  in  the  same  year 
in  which  his  father  was  killed  by  accident ;  and  much  of  the  prac- 
tice to  which  he  succeeded  was  retained  by  him  until  his  depart- 
ure for  Europe  in  1860  to  still  further  educate  himself  in  the 
University  at  Edinburgh,  Scotland.  How^ever,  at  the  end  of  a 
single  year  he  returned  to  Springfield  and  entered  the  service  as 
surgeon  of  the  18th  Mass.  infantry,  only  to  be  advanced  to  the 
rank  of  brigade  surgeon,  and  later  to  medical  director  of  the 
division.  Returning  to  Springfield  he  engaged  in  active  practice 
until  1872,  when  he  made  another  extended  European  tour,  and 
on  his  return  in  1873  he  was  made  professor  of  theory  and  prac- 
tice in  Yale  medical  department.  In  1877  he  was  transferred  to 
the  chair  of  surgery,  and  in  1878,  in  addition  to  his  other  duties, 
he  w^as  appointed  lecturer  on  medical  jurisprudence.  During 
his  active  professional  life  Dr.  Smith  was  vice-president  of  the 

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OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

Massachusetts  Medical  society,  post  surgeon  of  the  U.  S.  armory 
at  Springfield,  president  of  the  board  of  medical  examiners  for 
pensions,  and  medical  director  of  the  Massachusetts  Mutual  Life 
Insurance  company.  He  died  December  27,  1880,  and  on  the 
following  day  the  district  medical  society  in  special  meeting, 
resolved  "That  we  desire  as  individuals  and  as  a  society  to  place 
on  record  our  appreciation  of  the  life  and  character  of  our  dead 
brother;  that  we  call  to  mind  with  gratitude  his  distinguished 
services  to  the  profession  and  community,  his  labors  as  a  member 
and  officer  of  our  association,  and  our  regret  at  his  sudden  and 
untimely  death." 

James  Henry  Waterman,  at  the  time  of  his  death  medical  ex- 
aminer and  town  physician  of  Westfield,  and  one  of  the  leading 
men  of  his  profession  in  western  Hampden  county,  was  born  in 
Ware  in  1837  and  came  to  practice  in  Westfield  in  1860,  fresh 
from  his  graduation  from  the  medical  department  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Buffalo.  In  November,  1862,  he  was  appointed  surgeon 
of  the  46th  Mass.  Inf.,  and  served  in  that  capacity  about  two 
years.  In  addition  to  his  large  medical  practice  Dr.  W^aterman 
for  five  years  Avas  engaged  in  the  manufacture  of  cigars,  but  at 
the  end  of  that  time  he  gave  up  all  interests  outside  of  profes- 
sional work.  He  died  November  23,  1887.  The  estimation  in 
which  he  was  held  by  his  professional  associates  is  well  shown  by 
the  following  extracts  from  the  resolutions  of  the  medical  society 
after  his  death:  "Resolved,  that  in  the  decease  of  our  brother 
and  associate  the  society  loses  one  of  its  most  efficient,  active  and 
popular  members  in  the  vigor  of  his  manhood  and  in  the  acme  of 
his  professional  reputation ;  one  whose  duties  were  performed 
with  alacrity  and  zeal,  sacrificing  health  and  perhaps  life  for  the 
good  of  others,  and  one  whose  relations  to  the  profession  have 
been  conducive  to  its  elevation  and  improvement." 

George  Washington  Davis,  of  Holyoke,  president  of  the  dis- 
trict medical  society  in  1892-93,  was  born  in  Northfield,  Vermont, 
INIarch  26,  1847,  and  died  September  4,  1894.  He  unquestionably 
was  one  of  the  most  thoroughly  educated  physicians  in  that  city, 
and  one  whose  life  was  given  to  study  as  well  as  to  practice.  He 
first  read  medicine  in  his  native  town,  and  in  1866  attended  lec- 

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THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION 

tures  at  the  Pittsfield  Medical  school,  later  at  the  University  of 
Michigan,  at  Ann  Arbor,  and  still  later  at  Burlington,  Vermont, 
where  he  was  graduated  in  1868.  He  practiced  first  in  Crafts- 
bury,  Vt.,  and  came  to  Holyoke  in  1871.  In  that  city  he  achieved 
his  greatest  success.  He  took  a  post-graduate  course  in  New 
York  in  1876,  and  another  in  Philadelphia  in  1882.  In  1884  he 
studied  in  the  great  universities  of  Germany  and  France. 

Stephen  AA^allace  Bowles  was  born  in  Machias,  Maine,  in 
1835,  graduated  at  Williams  college  in  1856,  and  acquired  his 
early  medical  education  in  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Sur- 
geons of  New  York,  graduating  in  1859.  During  the  war  of 
1861-65,  he  was  for  a  time  on  the  hospital  staff  in  the  field  and 
afterward  served  in  the  general  hospital  at  Brattleboro,  his  whole 
service  covering  a  period  of  three  and  one-half  years.  He  also 
practiced  two  years  in  Brattleboro,  a  like  time  in  Yonkers,  N.  Y., 
and  came  to  Springfield  in  1872.  Dr.  Bowles  is  remembered  as. 
a  physician  of  excellent  ability  and  as  a  citizen  of  upright  char- 
acter.    He  died  February  13,  1895. 

James  John  O'Connor,  late  of  Holyoke,  and  one  of  the 
brightest  young  lights  of  the  profession  in  that  city  previous  to 
his  death,  was  born  in  Springfield,  October  20,  1864,  and  died 
December  14,  1898.  He  was  educated  in  the  city  schools  and 
prepared  for  college  under  private  instruction.  In  1884  he  en- 
tered the  medical  department  of  Harvard,  and  graduated  in 
1888.  He  then  located  in  Holyoke  and  rapidly  gained  popular- 
ity by  his  professional  work.  He  practiced  ten  years  and 
achieved  success,  but  death  cut  off  his  promising  career. 

William  J.  Sawin  was  a  respected  physician  of  Chicopee 
Falls  at  the  time  of  his  death,  December  3,  1877.  On  that  occa- 
sion the  medical  society  expressed  its  feelings  in  these  Avords : 
''Resolved,  that  we,  in  common  with  those  who  are  deprived  of 
his  professional  services,  deeply  regret  his  loss  and  offer  to  his 
grief -stricken  family  our  sincere  condolence  in  their  sudden 
affliction,"  etc. 

H.  G.  Stickney,  president  of  the  society  in  1877-78,  for  many 
years  a  respected  physician  of  this  locality,  died  December  5, 
1878,  upon  which  the  society  resolved  as  folloM^s:     ''That  in  the 

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Ol'R  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

sudden  death  of  H.  Cr.  Stiekuey  the  medical  profession  has  sus- 
tained the  loss  of  an  ardent  worker,  a  thorough  practitioner,  and 
a  true  friend  to  the  advancement  of  medical  science ;  resolved, 
that  by  the  decease  of  Dr.  Stickney  the  community  has  been  de- 
prived of  an  intelligent  and  public-spirited  citizen,  and  society 
of  a  kind-hearted  man." 

Alvin  Smith,  of  Monson,  Sanford  Lawton,  of  Springfield, 
and  Cyrus  Bell,  of  Feeding  Hills,  died  in  1882.  Each  was  a  well 
known,  highly  respected  and  competent  physician  in  the  com- 
munity in  which  he  lived  and  practiced.  On  September  12  of 
that  year,  at  a  meeting  of  the  society  this  serious  inroad  on  its 
membership  was  discussed  and  the  following  resolutions  were 
adopted  as  expressing  the  feelings  of  the  members  present:  "Re- 
solved, that  this  society,  fully  appreciating  its  loss  in  the  death 
of  these  members,  would  deeply  impress  upon  the  memory  its 
testimony  to  their  moral  and  professional  worth.  As  officers  and 
members  they  were  efficient  and  faithful  in  their  duties  and  al- 
ways active  in  promoting  and  sustaining  its  best  interests.  Hon- 
orable and  upright  in  their  intercourse  with  its  fellows,  they 
commanded  and  received  their  confidence  and  friendship.  As 
practitioners  in  their  professional  calling  each  was  the  devoted 
physician,  the  self-sacrificing,  sympathetic  and  warm-hearted 
friend.  .  .  In  their  loss  this  society  most  freely  accords  its 
sympathy  and  mingles  its  sorrow  with  their  friends  and  the  com- 
munities among  which  they  lived  and  labored. ' ' 

In  September,  1887,  the  society  adopted  resolutions  appro- 
priate to  the  occasion  on  the  death  of  its  valued  young  member, 
Dr.  J.  L.  Bagg,  a  native  of  West  Springfield  and  a  descendant  of 
one  of  its  pioneer  families. 

W.  J.  Tracy  died  October  4,  1888,  and  in  commenting  on  his 
professional  life  the  society's  resolution  says:  "AVhile  we  sin- 
cerely deplore  the  death  of  our  brother  and  associate,  and  that 
he  was  permitted  to  cross  to  the  other  side  with  his  life  work  so 
incomplete,  yet  we  rejoice  that  in  so  brief  a  time  he  was  by  his 
worth  and  industry  enabled  to  attain  a  distinguished  position  in 
his  chosen  profession  and  in  the  community  in  which  he  lived." 

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THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION 

U.  H.  Flagg  and  Dr.  Bowles  died,  the  former  in  November, 
1894,  and  the  hitter  in  February.  1895.  At  a  meeting  held  April 
16,  1895,  the  resolution  adopted  by  the  society  says:  "Resolved, 
that  we  highly  appreciate  the  valuable  services  which  they  ten- 
dered to  this  society  and  the  medical  profession,  and  that  w'B 
hereby  express  our  sympathy  for  their  relatives  and  families  in 
their  severe  bereavement." 

Henry  Charles  Bowen  died  September  3,  1898,  and  the  res- 
olution adopted  at  the  next  meeting  expresses  deep  regret  at  the 
loss  of  a  valuable  fellow^  member,  "who  died  of  typhoid  fever  in 
Cuba  while  serving  his  country  as  surgeon  of  the  2d  Mass.  militia 
in  the  Spanish  war," 

Erskine  Erasmus  Hamilton,  who  died  in  January,  1901,  was 
born  in  1866,  graduated  at  the  College  of  Physicians  and  Sur- 
geons in  1892,  and  was  associated  with  medical  practice  in 
Springfield  from  that  time  until  the  latter  part  of  1900. 

Harry  A.  Merchant,  of  Monson,  likewise  Avas  taken  away  by 
the  hand  of  the  destroyer  during  the  year  1901,  and  thereby  was 
extinguished  the  life  of  one  who  gave  promise  of  a  rapid  rise  in 
the  ranks  of  the  profession.  Dr.  Merchant  was  a  son-in-law  of 
Dr.  George  E.  Fuller  of  Monson. 

THE  EASTERN  HAMPDEN   MEDICAL  ASSOCIATION 

During  the  latter  part  of  1879  three  well  known  physicians 
of  the  eastern  towns  of  Hampden  county— Dr.  George  E.  Fuller 
of  Monson,  Dr.  George  T.  Ballard  of  Hampden,  and  Dr.  W.  H. 
Stowe  of  Palmer— were  accustomed  to  meet  together  about  once 
a  month  at  the  house  of  one  of  them  and  there  discuss  any  events 
of  more  than  usual  importance  in  their  professional  work  which 
had  taken  place  during  the  preceding  month ;  and  to  give  added 
enjoyment  to  these  occasions,  the  wives  of  these  physicians  would 
accompany  them,  and  while  the  discussions  were  being  held  the 
ladies  would  prepare  a  supper  for  the  social  enjoyment  of  all 
who  were  present. 

These  little  informal  assemblages  were  found  so  agreeable 
and  beneficial  to  the  participants  that  on  February  6,  1880,  it 
was  resolved  to  effect  a  permanent  organization  under  the  name 

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OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

of  the  "Doctors'  Club  of  Eastern  Hampden,"  to  adopt  a  eonsti- 
tion  and  by-laws  and  elect  officers  for  the  ensuing  year.  These 
officers  were  as  follows :  Dr.  George  E.  Fuller,  president ;  Dr. 
George  T.  Ballard,  vice-president;  Dr.  W,  H.  Stowe,  secretary 
and  treasurer;  Drs.  George  E.  Fuller,  George  T,  Ballard,  W.  H. 
StoAve,  A.  0.  Squier  and  J.  W.  Hannum,  directors. 

Thus  launched  into  existence  with  an  original  membership 
of  five  physicians,  the  Doctors'  Club  began  its  history  with  every 
promise  of  future  usefulness  but  without  an  intention  on  the 
part  of  its  founders  to  extend  to  jurisdictions  beyond  the  limits 
of  a  few^  of  the  eastern  towns  of  the  county.  However,  the  good 
results  which  followed  the  early  meetings  soon  spread  their  influ- 
ence throughout  the  profession,  and  one  addition  after  another 
gradually  extended  the  membership  west  to  the  Connecticut  and 
also  into  the  counties  adjoining  Hampden. 

This  somewhat  remarkable  outspreading  from  a  little  in- 
formal social  trio  of  medical  men  to  a  formal  organization  with 
large  and  constantly  increasing  membership,  necessitated  a 
change  in  the  regulations,  therefore,  at  a  meeting  held  February 
10,  1881,  "censors"  replaced  "directors,"  and  on  March  10  of 
the  same  year  the  constitution  was  amended  by  changing  the 
name  from  "Doctors'  Club  of  Eastern  Hampden"  to  "The  East- 
ern Hampden  Medical  Association."  Still,  the  original  social 
character  of  the  organization  has  been  preserved  even  to  the 
present  day  and  the  "banquet"  is  a  feature  of  the  regular  meet- 
ings. 

During  the  period  of  its  history  more  than  fifty  practicing 
physicians  have  become  members  and  affixed  their  names  to  the 
constitution  of  the  club  and  association.  In  the  order  of  senior- 
ity of  membership  the  names  are  as  follows :  Drs.  George  E. 
Fuller,  Monson ;  Geo.  T.  Ballard,  Hampden ;  W.  H.  Stowe, 
Palmer ;  James  W.  Hannum,  Ludlow ;  A.  0.  Squier,  North  Wil- 
braham ;  A.  C.  Desautels,  Indian  Orchard ;  Noyes  Barstow,  In- 
dian Orchard ;  J.  M.  Foster,  AA^ilbraham ;  Horace  G.  Webber, 
Wales  (now  Wilbraham)  ;  George  L.  Woods,  Springfield;  S.  F. 
Smith,  Indian  Orchard;  D.  H.  Nutting,  Chicopee  Falls;  A.  C. 
Downing,  Palmer ;  C.  B.  Newton,  Stafford  Springs,  Conn. ;  F.  W. 

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THE  MEDICAL  riWFESSION 

Ellis,  Monson;  L.  J.  Gibbs,  Chicopee  Falls;  Geo.  P,  Bailey, 
Bondsville ;  J.  B.  Hyland,  Palmer ;  C.  W.  Jackson,  Monson ;  R, 
V.  Sawin,  Brimfield;  W.  H.  Bliss,  North  Wilbraham;  L.  M. 
Berry,  Chicopee  Falls;  J.  P.  Schneider,  Palmer;  H.  B.  Perry, 
Amherst;  J.  T.  Pero,  Indian  Orchard;  W.  N.  Klemmer,  Spring- 
field; Leslie  H.  Hendee,  Palmer;  George  P.  Bell,  Three  Rivers; 
J.  M.  Fay,  Northampton ;  George  W.  Rawson,  Amherst ;  AValter 

A.  Smith,  Springfield;  Joab  Stowell,  North  Amherst;  Walter  R. 
Weiser,  Springfield ;  George  D.  AVeston,  Springfield ;  R.  E.  Dick- 
son, Granby ;  C.  F.  Branch,  Amherst ;  P.  H.  Larose,  Indian 
Orchard;  H.  T.  Shores,  Northampton;  Chas.  A.  Byrne,  Hatfield; 
Harry  A.  Merchant,  Monson ;  F.  A.  H.  Robinson,  Hinsdale ;  P.  J. 
C.  Flagg,  Mittineague ;  V.  J.  Irwin,  Springfield ;  Irving  R. 
Calkins,  Springfield ;  E.  H.  Guild,  Springfield ;  Louis  A.  Pref on- 
taine,  Springfield;  James  E.  Marsh,  Springfield;  C.  H.  Calkins, 
Springfield ;  H.  C.  Martin,  Longmeadow ;  E.  P.  Ross,  Wales ;  C. 
R.  Chapman,  Springfield. 

The  succession  of  officers  is  as  follows : 

Presidents:  George  E.  Fuller,  1880-81 ;  George  T.  Ballard, 
1882-83 ;  W.  H.  Stowe,  1884 ;  J.  W.  Hannum,  1885 ;  L.  J.  Gibbs, 
1886 ;  G.  L.  Woods,  1887 ;  A.  0.  Squier,  1888 ;  H.  G.  Webber, 
1889 ;  C.  W.  Jackson,  1890 ;  S.  F.  Smith,  1891 ;  R.  U.  Sawin, 
1892 ;  W.  H.  Bliss,  1893 ;  George  E.  Fuller,  1894 ;  George  T.  Bal- 
lard, 1895 ;  L.  M.  Berry,  1896 ;  H.  B.  Perry,  1897 ;  L.  H.  Hendee, 
1898 ;  W.  A.  Smith,  1899 ;  J.  M.  Fay,  1900 ;  Walter  R.  Weiser, 
1901. 

Vice-Presidents:  George  T.  Ballard,  1880-81 ;  W.  H.  Stowe, 
1882-83 ;  J.  W.  Hannum,  1884 ;  L.  J.  Gibbs,  1885 ;  G.  L.  Woods, 
1886 ;  A.  C.  Squier,  1887 ;  Horace  G.  Webber,  1888 ;  C.  W.  Jack- 
son, 1889 ;  W.  H.  Bliss,  1890 ;  R.  V.  Sawin,  1891 ;  W.  H.  Bliss, 
1892 ;  F.  W.  Ellis,  1893 ;  J.  T.  Pero,  1894 ;  L.  M.  Berry,  1895-96 ; 
L.  H.  Hendee,  1897 ;  AV.  A.  Smith,  1898 ;  G.  L.  AVoods,  1899 ; 
AValter  R.  Weiser,  1900 ;  G.  AA^.  Rawson,  1901. 

Secretaries  and  Treasurers:  AA^.  H.  Stowe,  1880;  J.  W. 
Hannum,  1881-83 ;  H.  G.  AVebber,  1884 ;  G.  L.  A¥oods,  1885 ;  J. 

B.  Hyland,  1886 ;  C.  A¥.  Jackson,  1887 ;  R.  V.  Sawin,  1888 ;  G.  L. 
AVoods,  1889 ;  J.  W.  Hannum,  1890 ;  AV.  H.  Bliss,  1891 ;   F.  W. 

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OUR  COi'M'Y  AXD  ITS  PEOPLE 

EUis,  1892 :  J.  T.  Pero.  1893 :  J.  W.  Hanuum,  1894 ;  W.  G.  Web- 
ber, 1895:  J.  W.  Haimuin.  1896;  George  AV.  Rawson,  1897-98; 
Harry  A.  Mere'hant.  1899:  I.  R.  Calkins,  1900;  V.  J.  Irwin.  1901. 

THE  SPRINGFIELD  MEDICAL  CLUB 

On  December  13,  1892,  a  number  of  prominent  physicians 
perfected  the  formal  organization  of  the  Springfield  Medical 
club,  the  object  of  Avhich,  according  to  the  declaration  of  its  con- 
stitution is  "the  medical  and  social  advancement  of  its  mem- 
bers.'' Little  formality  accompanied  the  preliminary  work  of 
discussing  the  project.  The  need  of  such  an  association  was 
appreciated  in  professional  circles  and  in  due  season  the  club 
was  brought  into  existence.  It  is  a  business  organization— with 
a  social  side— and  never  has  encumbered  itself  with  numerous 
offices,  nor  burdened  its  officers  with  a  multitude  of  duties. 
Meetings  are  held  semi-monthly  with  an  annual  mid-winter  ban- 
quet— a  brief  season  of  total  relaxation  of  professional  work. 

The  members  of  the  club  since  its  organization  are  as  fol- 
lows : 

Frederick  AV.  Chapin,  Walter  H.  Chapin,  Charles  P. 
Hooker,  George  C.  McClean,  William  H.  Pomeroy,  Ralph  H. 
Seelye,  W.  N.  Suter  (rem.  to  Washington,  D.  C,  June  1,  1897), 
Joseph  T.  Herrick,  Everett  A.  Bates,  David  Clark,  Philip  Kilroy, 
Stephen  W.  Bowles  (d.  Feb.  12,  1895),  W.  W.  Broga,  Theodore 
F.  Breck,  Herbert  C.  Emerson,  Henry  C.  Bowen  (d.  Santiago, 
Cuba,  Sept.  3,  1898),  Warren  P.  Blake,  F.  E.  Hopkins,  Ralph 
Carleton,  Dudley  Carleton,  Frederick  B.  Sweet. 

The  officers  of  the  club  have  been  as  follows : 

Presidents:  Charles  P.  Hooker,  1892-93;  David  Clark, 
1894:  Theodore  F.  Breck,  1895-96;  Frederick  W.  Chapin, 
1897-98;  George  C.  McClean,  1899-1900;  Walter  H.  Chapin, 
1901. 

Secretaries  and  Treasurers:  Everett  A.  Bates.  1892-96: 
Herbert  C.  Emerson.  1897-1901. 


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THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION 

HOMOEOPATHY 

A  learned  writer  has  said:  "All  advancement  comes 
through  persecution,  and  'no  cross,  no  crown'  is  applicable  to 
science  as  well  as  to  religion.''  Christianity  itself  surged 
through  blood  and  fire  to  attain  its  mighty  power.  So,  too,  the 
medical  world  has  been  subject  to  convulsion  from  the  earliest 
ages.  Homoeopathy  sprung  into  existence  something  more  than 
a  century  ago,  discarded  the  settled  rules  of  practice  and  as- 
serted its  claims  to  the  world.  Its  distinguishing  character- 
istics, then  as  now,  consist  in  the  scientific  employment  of 
medicaments  according  to  the  principles  denoted  by  its  name, 
"similia  similibiis  curantur,"  or,  "like  is  cured  by  like." 

The  principle  first  rendered  into  a  practical  science  by 
Hahnemann,  the  founder  of  the  homoeopathic  school,  dates  far 
back  of  his  time,  and  was  even  glanced  at  by  Hippocrates ;  but 
it  remained  for  Hahnemann  to  propound  the  startling  dogma  in 
1790,  while  engaged  in  translating  Cullin's  Materia  Medica  from 
English  into  German.  The  new  school  passed  through  many 
wonderful  and  prolonged  tests,  trials  and  opposition,  and  event- 
ually was  legalized  in  Bohemia  in  1821 :  America  in  1825 ;  Rus- 
sia in  1833  ;  Austria  in  1837  ;  Prussia  in  1843  :  England  in  1858 ; 
and  to-day  is  a  recognized  power  throughout  the  world. 

It  is  not  the  fault  of  homoeopathists  that  they  and  the  asso- 
ciations to  which  they  belong  are  known  by  a  distinctive  name. 
It  is  the  fault  of  those  Avho  have  refused  to  allow  the  views  de- 
noted by  that  name  to  be  advocated,  tested,  and  freely  practiced 
within  the  bounds  of  ordinary  professional  fellowship.  Grant 
to  homoeopathy  the  same  liberty  which  is  accorded  to  all  other 
ways  of  thinking,  however  novel  and  unlike  those  ordinarily  re- 
ceived, and  the  raison  d'etre  of  homoeopathic  institutions  will 
have  disappeared. 

Homoeopathic  Medical  Society  of  Western.  Massachusetts. — 
On  April  25,  1877,  the  homoeopathic  physicians  of  Western 
Massachusetts  organized  a  society  for  mutual  improvement,  the 
charter  members  of  which  were  as  follows :  Drs.  J.  M.  Thomp- 
son of  Greenfield;  E.  R.  Morgan  and  Shelburn  Fort  of  Shelburne 

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OLE  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

Falls;  D.  T.  Vining  of  Conway;  F.  E.  Bailey  of  Williamstown ; 

A.  Harvey  of  North  Adams ;  and  Henry  Tucker  of  Brattleboro. 
In  August  following  the  organization  Dr.  George  W.  SAvazey  and 
Dr.  L.  McFarland  of  Springfield  were  added  to  the  membership, 
and  since  that  year  the  Avork  of  the  society  has  been  such  that 
its  rolls  now  contain  the  names  of  fifty-eight  active  members. 

The  society  holds  quarter-yearly  meetings  in  Springfield,  on 
which  occasions  all  branches  of  medical  science  are  discussed  by 
the  members;  and  the  social  side  of  these  assemblages  is  not 
without  substantial  benefits  in  the  interchange  of  courtesies  and 
the  extension  of  mutual  fellowship  and  professional  regard 
among  the  members. 

Among  the  members  of  the  society  past  and  present  there 
are  many  physicians  of  prominence  in  the  ranks  of  homoeopathy, 
and  some  there  were  who  are  no  longer  living.  We  may  recall 
such  practitioners  as  George  AY.  Swazey,  L.  McFarland,  Laura 
W.  Copp,  AY.  M.  Decker,  Andrew  S.  Oliver,  George  W.  Bates, 
Harriet  A.  Loring,  H.  E.  Russegue,  all  of  Springfield;  J.  U. 
"Woods  of  Holyoke :  X.  W.  Rand  of  INIonson ;  J.  K.  Warren  of 
Palmer ;  J.  F.  Hadley  of  Chicopee ;  and  S.  Alvord  of  Chicopee 
Falls. 

The  present  members  of  the  society,  who  are  residents  in 
Hampden  county,  are  as  follows :  Drs.  Plumb  Brown,  junior, 
John  H.  Carmichael,  J.  B.  Comins,  A.  ]\I.  Gushing,  J.  M.  Gates, 
H.  W.  Green,  R.  F.  Hovey,  S.  A.  Lewis,  Clarice  J.  Parsons, 
George  Rhoads,  H.  E.  Rice,  0.  W.  Roberts,  Alice  E.  Rowe  and 
Clara  J.  Sw-eet,  of  Springfield;  S.  E.  Fletcher,  of  Chicopee;  G. 

B.  Maxwell,  of  Chicopee  Falls :  W.  F.  Harding  and  A.  T.  Schoon- 
maker,  of  Westfield  :  J.  P.  Rand,  of  Monson  ;  H.  R.  Sackett,  G.  H. 
Smith  and  Frank  A.  Woods,  of  Holyoke ;  and  G.  H.  Wilkins,  of 
Palmer. 

Reminiscences. — Dr.  George  W.  Swazey  represented  histor- 
ically and  medically  the  homoeopathic  practice  in  Hampden 
county  during  his  professional  life  in  Springfield.  There  may 
have  been  an  earlier  homoeopath  here,  but  the  practice  only  got 
character  and  success  from  him.  He  was  a  thoroughly  honest 
and    conscientious    man,    persevering,     faithful,    studious     and 

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George  W.  Swazey,  M.  D. 


01 R  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

thoughtful.  He  believed  in  Avhat  he  \vas  doing,  and  there  was 
not  a  grain  of  charlatanry  in  the  way  he  did  it.  His  life  among 
us  was  long,  honorable  and  successful.  He  commanded  public 
respect  while  living,  he  justly  received  its  tributes,  dead. 

He  was  born  at  Exeter,  N.  H.,  in  1812 ;  and  entered  Bow- 
doin  college  with  the  class  of  "35,  but  removed  to  Dartmouth,  and 
finally  returned  to  Bowdoin  to  graduate  in  '37.  He  began  prac- 
tice as  an  allopath,  being  first  settled  in  Newburyport,  but 
adopted  the  homoeopathic  system  as  early  as  1840  and  continued 
in  it  ever  afterward.  He  removed  to  Springfield  in  1844.  He 
stood  high  in  his  school  of  medicine,  and  received  many  honors 
from  his  professional  associates.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Mas- 
sachusetts Homoeopathic  Medical  society,  and  a  member  and  one 
of  the  foundere  of  the  American  Institute  of  Homoeopathy,  and 
held  the  office  of  president  and  various  other  positions  in  both 
these  societies.  He  was  a  contributor  to  the  homoeopathic  med- 
ical journals,  and  quite  a  number  of  his  public  addresses  at  the 
meetings  of  the  state  and  national  societies  have  been  published 
and  widely  circulated.  Among  these  may  be  mentioned  his  ad- 
dress on  the  ' '  Scientific  Basis  of  Homoeopathy, ' '  delivered  before 
the  ]\Iassachusetts  Homoeopathic  Medical  society,  and  his  address 
before  the  American  Institute  of  Homoeopathy  on  "The  Nature 
of  Life,  the  Nature  of  Disease,  and  the  Law  of  Cure."' 

Dr.  Swazey  was  fatally  injured  by  falling  from  a  dry-bridge 
at  Deerfield,  Sept.  8,  1877. 

Dr.  H.  A.  Collins  was  born  in  South  Hadley,  Aug.  27,  1826. 
Prepared  for  college  at  Williston  seminary,  entering  Yale  in 
1847,  graduating  an  M.  D.  in  1850.  He  practiced  at  Conway 
three  years,  and  then  removed  to  Springfield.  While  at  Yale 
he  became  impressed  by  the  better  results  obtained  from  homoeo- 
pathic treatment  in  cholera  and  during  his  practice  at  Conway 
convinced  himself  that  the  theory  of  Hahnemann  was  the  more 
scientific :  and  upon  removing  to  Springfield  he  became  a  homeo- 
pathic physician.  At  that  time  Drs.  Swazey  and  Graves  were 
the  practitioners  of  this  school  in  the  city.  Dr.  Graves  subse- 
quently removed  from  Springfield,  Avhile  Dr.  Swazey  remained 
until  his  death  in  1877.      Dr.  Collins  was  an  unusually  energetic 

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THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION 

man,  always  looking  on  the  bright  side  of  life.  He  was  a  man 
of  genins,  diagnosing  diesases  quickly  by  intuition,  and  held  a 
select  clientele  to  the  time  of  his  death  in  1884.  His  recreation 
was  with  his  horses,  in  his  daily  ' '  rounds. ' '  He  was  a  member 
of  the  ^lassachusetts  Homoeopathic  Medical  society,  and  the 
American  Institute  of  Homoeopathy, 

The  history  of  homoeopathy  in  Monson  may  be  said  to  have 
begun  in  the  summer  of  1871,  when  Dr.  J.  K.  Warren,  who  had 
recently  located  in  Palmer,  left  an  "Order  Slate"  at  the  store 
of  Geo.  E.  Grout,  and  began  making  daily  calls  to  the  village. 

Previous  to  that  time  very  few  families  in  the  town  had  any 
practical  knowledge  of  homoeopathy ;  a  few  of  the  wealthy  peo- 
ple had  employed  Dr.  Geo.  W.  Swazey  of  Springfield,  but  only 
a  few,  and  those  at  infrequent  intervals. 

Dr.  Warren's  advent  to  the  town  was  greeted  watli  ridicule, 
which  grew  into  active  and  bitter  opposition  as  his  practice  in- 
creased ;  but  Dr.  Warren  was  not  a  man  easily  frightened  and 
though  for  a  time  the  only  graduate  of  the  new  school  between 
Worcester  and  Springfield  he  held  his  ground  and  built  a  large 
and  lucrative  business. 

In  this  way  Monson  was  supplied  wdth  homoeopathic  treat- 
ment until  Feb.  15,  1879,  when  Dr.  N,  W.  Rand,  a  student  and 
former  associate  of  Dr.  Warren,  decided  to  strike  out  for  himself 
and  open  an  office.  He  rented  rooms  in  a  central  location  and 
had  a  good  practice  from  the  very  first. 

The  history  of  homoeopathy  in  Monson  is  so  largely  the  his- 
tory of  Dr.  Eand  that  a  review  of  the  one  wdthout  a  recital  of  the 
other  would  be  incomplete.  Dr.  Rand  was  the  eldest  son  of 
Thomas  Prentice  and  Lydia  Wheeler  Rand  and  a  lineal  descend- 
ant of  Robert  and  Alice  Rand,  who  came  to  this  country  from 
England  in  1635.  He  was  born  in  Francestown,  N.  H.,  Sept. 
14,  1853,  and  received  his  preliminary  education  in  the  public 
schools  and  academy  of  his  native  town.  In  1875  he  began  the 
study  of  medicine  under  the  direction  of  the  Drs.  Dearborn  of 
Milford,  N.  H.,  and  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year  took  his  first 
course  of  medical  lectures  at  Dartmouth  college.  In  the  winter 
of  1876  he  taught  in  his  native  town  and  the  following  spring 

25-1  (      385      ) 


OVB  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

entered  the  office  of  Dr.  J.  K.  AVarren,  of  Palmer,  as  a  student. 
The  next  fall  lie  entered  the  medical  department  of  Boston  uni- 
versity and  the  following  year  joined  the  senior  class  of  the  New 
York  Homoeopathic  Medical  college  from  which  he  was  gradu- 
ated with  "honorable  mention''  in  the  spring  of  1878.  In  1879 
he  located  in  INlonson,  where  he  remained  until  his  death.  Nov. 
5,  1898. 

In  the  summer  of  1883  Dr.  Rand  w-as  married,  and,  in  com- 
pany of  his  wife,  spent  the  following  nine  months  in  post-gradu- 
ate study  in  the  hospitals  of  Europe.  His  brother,  Dr.  J.  P. 
Rand,  who  had  graduated  the  previous  March  from  the  New 
York  Homoeopathic  Medical  college,  attended  to  his  practice  dur- 
ing his  absence.  Upon  his  return  the  tw^o  brothers  ^vere  asso- 
ciated together  until  August  1,  1888,  when  Dr.  J.  P.  Rand  re- 
moved to  Worcester. 

From  this  date  until  the  time  of  his  death  Dr.  N.  W.  Rand 
was  the  only  homoeopathic  practitioner  in  Monson.  He  made 
many  friends.  He  had  a  large  business  and  was  greatly  be- 
loved by  his  patients.  For  twelve  years  he  served  on  the  school 
committee  and  for  eight  of  those  years  was  its  chairman.  He 
was  always  an  active  worker  in  and  out  of  the  profession.  He 
wrote  many  papers  both  medical  and  social  and,  together  with 
his  brother,  in  1897  published  a  little  volume  of  original  verse. 
His  professional  ability  and  sterling  integrity  were  quickly 
recognized  by  his  associates  in  practice.  He  was  made  presi- 
dent of  the  Homoeopathic  Medical  societies  of  Worcester  county 
and  Western  Massachusetts ;  vice-president  and  orator  of  the 
State  Homoeopathic  society,  and  at  the  time  of  his  decease  was 
lecturer  on  fevers  at  the  Boston  university  school  of  medicine. 

Upon  the  death  of  Dr.  N.  W.  Rand,  Dr.  J.  P.  Rand  returned 
to  Monson.  Like  his  brother  he  has  received  various  honors 
from  the  medical  profession,  serving  as  president  of  the  Homoeo- 
pathic Medical  societies  of  Worcester  county  and  Western  Massa- 
chusetts. In  1898  he  was  elected  president  of  the  Massachusetts 
Surgical  and  Gynaecological  society,  for  two  years  he  served  as 
1st  vice-president  of  the  state  society  and  in  1897  delivered  the 
annual  oration. 

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THE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION 

The  pioneer  of  homoeopathy  in  Palmer  was  Dr.  Samuel 
Shaw,  who  settled  there  in  1857,  although  Dr.  King,  a  physician 
of  the  old  school  who  practiced  here  from  1824  to  1861,  had  given 
some  time  to  the  study  of  a  few  homoeopathic  remedies  and  used 
them  successfully. 

Dr.  Shaw  had  been  a  physician  in  Wareham,  IMass.,  and  Al- 
bany, N.  Y.,  previous  to  locating  in  Palmer.  Becoming  dis- 
satisfied with  the  treatment  as  practiced  by  the  old  school,  he 
made  a  thorough  study  of  homoeopathy  and  adopted  it.  He  en- 
joyed a  large  practice  and  the  confidence  of  the  community  for 
many  years,  till  failing  health  obliged  him  to  relinquish  profes- 
sional work. 

Dr.  George  F.  Forbes  located  in  Palmer  soon  after  Dr. 
Shaw  and  remained  a  short  time,  removing  to  West  Brookfield 
where  he  established  a  large  practice. 

In  1870,  Dr.  Shaw,  becoming  too  feeble  to  continue  the  work, 
introduced  Dr.  J.  K.  Warren  as  his  successor.  The  latter  had 
just  graduated  from  the  New  York  Homoeopathic  medical  col- 
lege and  hospital.  He  practiced  in  the  town  until  1883,  and 
then  removed  to  Worcester. 

Dr.  G.  H.  Wilkins  graduated  from  the  New  York  Homoeo- 
pathic Medical  college  and  hospital  in  1883,  and  soon  afterwai'd 
succeeded  to  the  practice  of  Dr.  Warren. 

In  Holyoke  Dr.  E.  C.  Newport  was  the  first  resident  homoeo- 
pathic practitioner,  having  located  there  in  1868  fresh  from  his 
course  in  the  New  York  Homoeopathic  Medical  college.  With 
brief  intervals  he  practiced  in  the  city  until  his  death  a  few 
3^ears  ago. 

In  1868  Drs.  J.  U.  Woods  and  G.  H.  Smith  settled  and  be- 
gan practice  in  Holyoke.  A  few  years  ago  Dr.  Woods  removed 
to  New  Haven,  but  Dr.  Smith  remained  and  has  since  engaged 
in  active  and  successful  practice.  He  was  graduated  at  Belle- 
Tue  Hospital  Medical  college  in  1865,  located  first  at  Tariffville, 
Conn.,  removed  thence  to  Illinois  in  1866,  and  came  to  Holyoke 
in  1868.  He  is  an  ex-mayor  of  the  city,  also  an  ex-member  of 
the  school  committee,  and  now  is  a  member  of  the  board  of  exam- 
iners for  pensions. 

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OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

Dr.  H.  R.  Sackett,  a  graduate  of  the  New  York  Homoeo- 
pathic Medical  college  and  hospital  in  1893,  settled  in  Holyoke 
in  1894  and  now  is  in  active  practice  there.  He  is  president  of 
the  W.  M.  H.  Medical  society  and  a  member  of  the  Holyoke  Med- 
ical association. 

Dr.  F.  A.  Woods  was  graduated  at  the  Hahnemann  Medical 
college  of  Philadelphia  in  1893,  and  immediately  began  practice 
in  Holyoke,  where  now  he  is  secretary  of  the  board  of  health  and 
a  member  of  the  surgical  statf  of  the  city  hospital. 

In  AVestfield  the  oldest  homoeopathic  physician  is  Dr.  "Wil- 
bur F.  Harding,  a  graduate  of  Hahnemann  INIedical  college  in 
1857.  He  practiced  several  years  in  Greenfield  and  removed 
thence  to  Westfield.  He  is  a  member  of  the  state  and  local 
homoeopathic  medical  societies. 

Dr.  A.  D.  Schoonmaker,  also  a  graduate  of  the  Hahnemann 
Medical  college  in  1894,  located  in  Westfield  and  now  is  in  prac- 
tice in  that  town. 

Dr.  Samuel  Alvord,  whose  professional  life  was  spent  wholly 
in  Chicopee  Falls  as  a  seat  of  practice,  was  born  in  West  Spring- 
field and  was  specially  educated  for  work  as  a  school  teacher; 
but  when  later  on  he  entered  the  ranks  of  the  medical  profession 
he  became  one  of  the  best  exemplars  of  homoeopathy  in  the 
region. 

Dr.  J.  F.  Hadley,  formerly  of  Chicopee,  and  later  of  Walt- 
ham,  graduated  at  Boston  university  in  1882  and  practiced  in 
Chicopee  tAvo  years. 

Dr.  Samuel  E.  Fletcher,  of  Chicopee,  graduated  from  the 
Boston  School  of  Medicine  in  1891,  and  succeeded  to  the  prac- 
tice of  Dr.  Bennitt  who  had  removed  to  Springfield.  Dr.  Fletcher 
is  now  city  physician  of  Chicopee. 

Dr.  George  B.  Maxfield,  of  Chicopee  Falls,  is  a  graduate  of 
the  Chicago  Homoeopathic  Medical  college,  class  of  '94.  He 
located  in  this  city  in  1896. 

In  the  city  of  Springfield,  the  homoeopathic  medical  school 
has  been  well  represented  since  Dr.  SAvazey's  time;  and  among 
those  representatives  in  later  years  there  have  been  many  men 
of  high  personal  and  professional  attainments,  who  have  won 

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TEE  MEDICAL  PROFESSION 

for  themselves  positions  of  commanding  prominence  and  influ- 
ence in  the  community.  A  sketch  of  the  professional  career  of 
each  of  these  worthy  disciples  of  Hahnemann  would  give  added 
interest  to  this  chapter  but  the  policy  of  our  work  forbids.  How- 
ever, we  may  mention  the  names  of  these  practitioners  without 
fear  of  transgressing  any  rule  of  propriety. 

Dr.  A.  M.  Gushing,  after  a  splendid  elementary  and  profes- 
sional education,  began  his  career  as  a  physician  in  Bradford, 
Vt.,  in  1856,  and  in  subsequent  years,  after  various  removals, 
finally  settled  in  Springfield,  where  now  he  is  the  senior  homoeo- 
pathic physician. 

Dr.  Luke  Corcoran  was  graduated  at  the  New  York  Homoeo- 
pathic Medical  college  and  hospital  in  1868,  and  began  his  pro- 
fessional career  in  this  city  during  that  year. 

Dr.  John  H.  Carmichael  began  his  professional  career  in 
1873,  and  for  three  years  practiced  in  Worcester,  and  upon  the 
death  of  Dr.  Collins  he  succeeded  to  his  practice  in  this  city.  Dr. 
Carmichael  is  one  of  the  most  thoroughly  educated  and  widely 
known  homoeopathic  physicians  and  surgeons  in  Western  INIassa- 
chusetts. 

Dr.  Frank  D.  Maine  graduated  at  the  New  York  Homoeo- 
pathic Medical  college  and  hospital  in  1872  and  came  to  Spring- 
field in  1894. 

Dr.  Lorenzo  W.  Cole,  a  graduate  of  the  New  York  Homoeo- 
pathic Medical  college  and  hospital  in  1873,  has  spent  his  entire 
professional  life  in  this  city. 

Dr.  Oscar  Waldo  Eoberts  graduated  from  the  Boston  Uni- 
versity school  of  medicine  in  1879,  and  practiced  in  Palmer  and 
Ware  previous  to  his  coming  to  Springfield  in  1890. 

Dr.  H.  E.  Rice  practiced  in  Springfield  from  1883  to  1901. 

Dr.  Francis  M.  Bennitt,  a  graduate  of  Cornell  university 
and  also  of  the  N.  Y.  H.  Medical  college  and  hospital  (1883) 
came  to  Springfield  in  the  summer  of  1884. 

Dr.  George  Rhoads,  graduate  of  the  University  of  Vermont 
in  1884,  and  of  Hahnemann  Medical  college  in  1889,  located  in 
Springfield  in  1894. 

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OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

Dr.  Plumb  Brown  Avas  graduated  at  the  Hahnemann  Med- 
ical college  in  Chicago  in  1892,  and  settled  in  Springfield  in  1895. 

Dr.  Alice  E.  Rowe,  a  graduate  of  the  Boston  University 
school  of  medicine,  began  practice  in  Springfield  in  1896. 

Dr.  Clara  INI.  Sweet,  a  graduate  of  the  Boston  University 
school  of  medicine,  began  practice  in  Springfield  in  1894. 

Dr.  Clarice  J.  Parsons,  of  Springfield,  is  a  graduate  of  the 
New  York  Medical  college  and  hospital  for  women,  class  of  '94. 

Dr.  Robert  F.  Hovey,  a  graduate  of  the  New  York  Homoeo- 
pathic Medical  college  and  hospital  in  1897,  came  to  Springfield 
in  1900,  and  associated  in  practice  with  Dr.  Carmichael. 


CHAPTER  XX 

THE  DENTAL  PROFESSION 

BY   ANDREW   J.    FLANAGAN,    I).  D.  S. 

The  history  of  dentistry  in  Western  Massachusetts  in  gen- 
eral, and  particularly  in  what  is  now  Hampden  county,  dates 
back  in  authentic  record  to  about  1825.  It  may  be  well  to  state 
in  the  beginning  that  the  honest  records  of  early  practitioners  of 
dentistry  in  the  United  States  cannot  be  traced  back  earlier  than 
1774.  About  1800  the  larger  cities  had  a  few  practitioners  per- 
forming the  then  limited  operations  of  dentistry,  and  as  they 
took  apprentices  and  graduated  the  same,  the  smaller  places  in 
the  various  connnunities  began  to  have  visits  from  the  itinerant 
or  travelling  practitioners.  Dentistry  in  those  early  days  con- 
sisted mainly  in  the  extraction  of  teeth  and  the  insertion  of  arti- 
ficial ones,  made  of  the  tusks  of  the  elephant  or  hippopotamus  on 
a  silver  or  gold  base.  The  preservation  of  the  natural  leeth  had 
little  attention,  and  the  limited  operations  in  filling,  consisted  of 
either  tin  or  soft  gold  foils.  Extracting  was  by  the  use  of  the 
so-called  turnkey,  the  forceps  not  being  brought  forth  until  the 

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THE  DENTAL  PROFESSION 

earlier  thirties.  The  teeth  were  all  hand  carved  and  naturally 
limited  as  to  color  and  durability.  The  practice  was  decidedly 
on  the  line  of  a  trade  and  not  of  a  profession.  In  the  forties  the 
first  college  was  launched  in  the  city  of  Baltimore  and  to-day 
we  have  in  the  United  States  alone  nearly  sixty  acceptable  and 
reputable  colleges  teaching  dentistry  on  the  broad  and  advanced 
lines  of  a  learned  profession.  The  earlier  days  found  the  men 
taking  students  Avith  a  guarantee  not  to  divulge  to  others  any  of 
the  secrets  taught  them ;  the  present  finds  secrecy  past,  and  the 
ideas,  inventions  and  operations  of  true  worth  are  free  to  all  for 
use  in  the  amelioration  of  human  ills.  Then  truly  we  may  say, 
that  the  higher  and  nobler  history  dates  from  the  birth  of  the 
first  college.  Dentistry  was  quite  on  a  line  with  medicine  as  re- 
gards student  pupilage  and  trade  secrets,  for  the  practitioner  of 
medicine  generally  parted  with  his  knowledge  for  considerations 
of  a  money  nature— and  the  guarantee  of  secrecy ;  however,  these 
methods  were  the  custom  of  the  times — and  custom  is  the  un- 
written law,  and  from  the  standpoint  of  the  dominating  spirit 
of  the  times  quite  in  keeping  with  the  general  world.  What  is 
to-day  may  not  be  to-morrow,  and  the  accepted  of  the  past  is  not 
that  of  the  present.  The  present  finds  dentistry  keeping  apace 
with  the  world's  advancement.  We  owe  much  to  those  earlier 
pioneers,  who  "builded  better  than  they  knew,"  and  especially 
to  those  advanced  practitioners  and  thinkers  who  started  the 
early  dental  colleges  after  being  denied  admission  to  the  medical 
schools.  The  very  adversity  encountered  was  the  means  of 
building  the  superstructure  existing  to-day ;  the  school  wherein 
was  brought  forth  the  standard  of  the  world— American  dent- 
istry. It  is  well  for  the  public  to  recognize  that  he  of  the  pres- 
ent who  keeps  methods  to  himself,  who  claims  superiority  over 
his  fellows,  and  labors  not  for  humanity  and  the  profession,  has 
no  part  in  what  is  accepted  as  the  standard  of  the  present.  Mod- 
ern dentistry  emanated  from  ethical  men,  down  through  the 
gamut  of  acceptable  colleges,  true  dental  societies  and  advanced 
dental  journalism.  The  unethical,  the  charlatan,  and  the  un- 
charitable make  a  trade  of  what  should  be  a  profession.  All 
honor  to  those  practitioners  who  labor  diligently  in  whatever 

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OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

capacit}'  for  the  advancement  along  true  lines  of  our  "esprit  de 
corps. ' ' 

The  first  dentist  Avho  practiced  the  art  in  Hampden  county 
was  probably  an  itinerant  named  Dr.  Appleton  who  advertised 
in  January,  1825,  "as  attending  to  the  cleaning  and  preserving 
of  the  teeth,"  and  as  having  tooth  powder  for  sale.  At  that 
time  he  was  stopping  in  Springfield.  A  thorough  perusal  of  the 
early  newspapers  fails  to  state  where  he  came  from,  whether  he 
had  medical  knowledge  also,  or  from  w^hom  he  obtained  his  dental 
instruction.  In  August,  1826,  a  Dr.  Darrah  was  in  Springfield 
and  advertised  as  operating  in  the  cleaning,  filling  and  extract- 
ing of  teeth :  also  inserting  artificial  teeth,  claiming  an  ex- 
perience of  sixteen  years,  and  was  recommended  by  Dr.  J.  V.  C, 
Smith  of  Boston.  Search  has  revealed  the  fact  that  Dr.  Smith 
was  a  practitioner  of  dentistry  in  connection  with  the  practice 
of  medicine.  AYhen  Ambrose  Lawrence,  M.  D.,  began  the  prac- 
tice of  dentistry  in  the  then  young  city  of  Lowell,  October  1, 
1839,  he  found  a  Robert  Darrah  practicing  dentistry  there.  Un- 
doubtedly this  Dr.  Darrah  was  the  same  one  who  formerly  vis- 
ited Springfield. 

Before  1830  Dr.  Charles  Stratton  had  a  circuit  of  towns 
northeast  of  Springfield  and  finally  located  permanently  at  Am- 
herst about  1830.  He  was  uncle  to  Dr.  Chester  Stratton,  one 
of  the  founders  of  the  Connecticut  Valley  Dental  society. 

Dr.  C.  T.  Stockwell  of  this  city  has  heard  from  old  residents 
of  a  Dr.  Liscomb  of  Ware  who  had  a  circuit  in  the  twenties  in 
and  near  Springfield.  The  newspapers  of  that  time  fail  to  au- 
thenticate this. 

According  to  a  Dr.  Booth  who  wrote  a  series  of  historical 
sketches  for  the  New  England  Homestead  in  1868,  Jacob  Per- 
kins, jr.,  commenced  the  practice  of  dentistry  in  Springfield 
about  1830.  The  New  England  Homestead  was  printed  by 
Henry  Burt  in  Springfield  and  was  the  predecessor  of  our  pres- 
ent Springfield  Homestead.  The  following  is  from  an  article 
by  Dr.  Booth :  Jacob  Perkins,  jr.,  got  some  insight  into  the 
business  from  a  Dr.  Partridge  and  afterward  opened  an  office 
in  his  father's  house,  then  standing  on  the  present  site  of  Olivet 

(      392      ) 


THE  DENTAL  PROFESSION 

church,  about  1830  or  soon  afterward.  He  was  an  excellent 
mechanic,  making  all  his  tools  and  the  only  practitioner  of  the 
art  at  the  time  between  Hartford  and  Northampton.  He  ever 
remained  one  of  the  best  operative  dentists  during  his  residence 
here.  His  brother,  Cyrus  Perkins,  opened  an  office  in  1835.  In 
those  early  days  pivot  teeth  were  much  used  in  making  plates, 
such  work  being  only  prosecuted  under  the  greatest  disadvan- 
tages. Plates  were  beat  or  bent  up  by  a  tedious  process,  the 
now  common  way  of  swedging— both  quick  and  easy— being  a 
later  invention.  Artificial  teeth  were  then  carved  from  the 
tooth  of  the  hippopotamus  on  account  of  its  hardness,  and  even  a 
set  of  ten  teeth  in  one  block  was  carved  from  the  single  specimen. 
But  they  decayed  worse  than  the  natural  human  teeth.  The 
■earliest  advertisement  of  Dr.  Perkins  I  have  been  able  to  find,  is 
taken  from  the  Springfield  Gazette  of  February  6,  1833.  '*Dr. 
Perkins,  Surgeon  Dentist,  respectfully  informs  the  ladies  and 
gentlemen  of  Springfield  and  vicinity,  that  he  remains  in  readi- 
ness at  his  office  in  State  Street  opposite  United  States  Armory, 
to  attend  to  those  in  want  of  his  professional  services.  He  in- 
serts teeth  with  ease  and  with  as  little  pain  as  the  circumstnnces 
of  case  may  permit.  Siliceous,  metallic  or  incorruptible  teeth 
set,  and  other  artificial  teeth  set  in  a  manner  not  inferior  to  any 
in  the  United  States.  Gangrene  of  the  teeth  removed,  and  the 
decayed  teeth  rendered  artificially  sound  by  stopping  them  with 
gold,  which  will  prevent  further  decay.  Teeth  cleaned  in  the 
best  manner  of  salivary  calculus  (tartar)  hence  removing  a  bad 
breath.  Particular  attention  paid  to  changing  of  children's 
teeth  and  irregularities  prevented.  Teeth  extracted  with  perfect 
safety  and  as  little  pain  as  the  nature  of  the  case  will  allow." 

Dr.  Perkins  before  taking  up  dentistry  worked  as  a  machin- 
ist in  the  United  States  armory  in  Springfield.  He  began  his 
dental  experience  by  extracting  teeth  for  his  fellow  workmen, 
and  becoming  quite  expert  at  this  part  of  the  profession,  he  left 
the  armory  and  ])ranched  out  as  a  dentist.  In  a  short  time  he 
Avas  able  to  do  very  creditable  work  in  making  plates  and  filling 
teeth  and  was  lai'gely  patronized  by  the  best  people  of  the  town 
.and  vicinity.       He  continued  practice  here  for  many  years,  but 

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OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

was  finally  obliged  to  leave  the  city  to  escape  arrest.  He  after- 
ward returned  and  died  not  many  years  ago.  After  leaving 
Armory  hill  the  doctor's  next  office  was  for  many  years  over 
what  is  now  Clough's  restaurant  on  Main  street  and  from  there 
he  moved  to  a  small  building  which  stood  on  the  front  lawn  of  a 
house  located  at  what  is  noAV  the  southeast  corner  of  Chestnut 
and  Linden  streets.  Cyrus  Perkins,  a  brother,  studied  dent- 
istry with  Jacob  and  for  a  few  years  was  associated  with  him  in 
practice.  AVe  find  many  of  his  advertisements  in  the  papers 
from  1844  to  1855.  His  method  of  announcing  his  services  was 
decidedly  unusual  and  now  would  not  be  in  harmony  with  the 
dignity  of  the  profession.  One  of  his  "ads."  reads  as  follows: 
"Teeth!  Teeth!  May  10,  1844.  The  subscriber  has  just  re- 
ceived, direct  from  the  manufacturer,  some  of  the  most  beautiful 
incorruptible  mineral  teeth,  which  will  be  inserted  in  all  the  vari- 
ous modes  at  the  lowest  rates,  viz. :  Best  pivot  teeth  inserted  on 
roots  of  the  natural  teeth  in  the  best  manner  and  warranted  to 
give  good  satisfaction  at  $2.00  and  $3.50.  Best  plate  teeth  in- 
serted on  gold  plate,  in  the  best  manner  and  with  or  without  col- 
ored gums,  $3.00,  $3.50.  Sets  of  upper  teeth  on  atmospheric 
principle  with  or  without  imitation  gums,  warranted  to  answer 
most  of  the  purposes  of  articulation  and  mastication,  from  $35.00 
to  $40.00.  Eeferences  from  people  who  have  used  the  atmos- 
pheric teeth  of  the  subscriber's  make  from  one  to  five  years,  with 
good  satisfaction,  can  be  seen  at  his  office.  All  operations  done 
at  lowest  rates  and  in  the  best  manner.  C.  Perkins,  office  over 
J.  Kendall's  boot  and  shoe  store,  opposite  Exchange  Temperance 
Hotel,  Main  Street." 

His  office  was  later  moved  to  corner  of  Sanford  and  INIain 
streets,  over  what  is  now  Brewer's  drug  store,  where  he  remained 
in  practice  until  about  1882. 

Silas  Bliss,  Avho  formerly  was  associated  with  Dr.  Westcott 
of  Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  — a  dentist  of  great  repute— came  to  Spring- 
field in  1840.  Before  coming  he  had  an  itinerant  practice  in 
New  York  state  and  travelled  principally  by  canal.  Dr.  Bliss 
also  had  an  ofifice  at  Wilbraham  and  alternated  between  the  two 
places.    He  rarely  used  gold  in  filling  teeth,  it  is  said,  preferi-ing 

{      394      ) 


TEE  DENTAL  PROFESSION 

tin.  His  office  in  Springfield  was  at  the  corner  of  Fort  and 
Main  Streets.  Dr.  J.  M.  Rig'gs,  of  "Riggs  disease"  fame,  be- 
gan practice  at  Chicopee  Falls— then  a  part  of  Springfield— in 
1840.  He  then  went  or  rather  retnrned  to  Hartford,  Ct.,  where 
he  died  Nov.  11,  1855.  He  was  at  one  time  high  school  master 
at  Hartford.  Dr.  George  H.  White,  who  studied  with  Dr.  Gun- 
ning of  New  York  city,  came  to  Springfield  in  1842.  He  had 
practiced  in  New  York  before  coming  to  this  city,  having  an  office 
on  Chambers  street.  After  remaining  here  for  thirteen  years 
he  returned  to  New  York  (1855)  and  died  in  Florida,  August 
12,  1879.  Dr.  White  had  his  office  and  residence  on  Fountain 
Row  directly  opposite  our  present  court  square  and  about  where 
the  Flint  &  Brickett  building  now  stands.  He  was  an  expert 
porcelain  worker  and  while  here  taught  many  practitioners  of 
New  England  the  dental  art.  In  fact,  he  had  what  might  be 
termed  a  school  of  porcelain  art.  According  to  an  advertise- 
ment in  the  local  papers  of  1848  we  find  him  using  chloroform 
for  the  painless  extraction  of  teeth.  We  also  find  Dr.  White 
giving  references  from  prominent  people  as  to  his  ability  as  a 
dentist.  This  was  a  practice  common  among  our  physicians  of 
that  time.  Dr.  N.  E.  Ames  came  to  Springfield  to  live  in  1839, 
and  died  only  a  few  years  ago  while  located  on  upper  State 
street  opposite  Benton  park.  He  studied  with  James  Weed, 
M.  D.,  of  Hartford,  who  also  practiced  dentistry.  Before  he 
opened  an  office  in  Springfield,  he  for  twenty  years  regularly 
visited  a  circuit  of  towns  to  the  east  of  the  city,  beginning  at 
Ware.  In  1859  he  established  a  permanent  office  in  Springfield. 
He  was  born  at  Barre,  Mass.,  Oct.  23,  1814 ;  was  at  one  time  a 
printer  with  G.  &  C.  Merriam,  the  famous  publishers  at  Spring- 
field. 

After  leaving  the  Merrianis  he  printed  a  paper  for  a  short 
time  in  New  Haven,  Ct.  In  his  earlier  years  the  doctor  was  a 
great  lover  of  horses  and  during  the  time  of  his  circuit  practice 
he  had  the  reputation  of  owning  the  fastest  horses  on  the  road. 
For  many  years  he  was  a  firm  believer  and  worker  for  total  ab- 
stinence principles.  He  was  a  great  advocate  and  user  of  chloro- 
form as  an  anaesthetic. 

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01 R  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

Dr.  Flavins  Searle  came  to  Springfield  in  1839.  He  was 
born  in  Sontlianipton,  JNIass.,  April  4th,  1814.  His  early  studies 
were  with  reference  to  his  entering  the  ministry.  He  taught 
school  at  intervals  and  finally  entered  Amherst  college,  but, 
owing  to  poor  health  did  not  graduate.  Subsequently  he  en- 
tered Marietta  college,  but  his  health  did  not  permit  him  to  con- 
tinue. Later  he  took  up  the  study  of  medicine  and  made  a 
specialty  of  dentistry  under  the  tutorship  of  Dr.  Walker  of 
Northampton,  who  was  both  physician  and  dentist.  Graduat- 
ing at  the  office  of  Dr.  Walker  he  opened  an  office  at  Springfield 
in  1839,  but  made  excursions  into  adjoining  towns  for  a  time, 
as  an  itinerate.  An  advertisement  in  the  Springfield  directory  of 
1851  announces  him  as  a  physician  and  dentist.  No  man  who 
has  practiced  dentistry  in  this  part  of  the  state  was  more  be- 
loved, respected  and  honored  than  Dr.  Searle.  He  was  an  honor 
to  the  growing  profession  and  did  much  to  advance  it  in  the  esti- 
mation of  the  community.  He  came  to  be  known  as  the  "father" 
of  dentistry  in  this  region,  not  only  because  of  his  conservatively 
progressive  influence,  but  because  he  was  the  first  to  open  his 
office  and  laboratory  as  well  as  his  well  stored  mind  and  heart  to 
his  fellow  practitioners.  These  and  his  friendly  aid  and  assist- 
ance were  always  open  to  the  call  of  all  competitors.  All  of  this 
was  fully  illustrated  by  a  remarkable  tribute  paid  to  him  in 
October,  1887,  by  the  Connecticut  Valley  Dental  society,  of 
which  he  was  the  principal  founder  and  its  first  president,  in  the 
celebration  of  the  50th  anniversary  of  his  professional  life.  This 
was  the  "judgment  day"  for  Dr.  Searle,  and  his  professional 
associates,  from  all  over  the  land,  constituted  the  court  of  justice, 
either  by  personal  presence  or  personal  letters.  And  this  is  not 
all :  the  mayor  of  the  city,  representatives  of  medical,  legal,  cler- 
ical and  other  professions,  came  to  do  him  honor.  In  fact,  he 
was  overwhelmed  with  expressions  of  esteem,  love  and  congratu- 
lation. On  the  10th  of  February,  1889 — seventeen  months  from 
this  happy  event— Dr.  Searle  died.  On  the  occasion  of  his 
funeral  a  special  meeting  of  the  Connecticut  Valley  Dental  so- 
ciety Avas  called,  and  in  a  body  the  members  followed  his  remains 
to  the  grave.      On  this  occasion  a  notable  memorial  address  was 

(      396      ) 


Flavins  Searle,  D.  D.  S. 


01' R  COL  MY  AXD  ITS  PEOPLE 

given  by  (Jeorge  S.  ]Meri-iain,  a  neighbor  and  one  of  the  foremost 
men  of  the  city. 

Dr.  Searle  was  the  inventor  of  various  methods  and  appli- 
ances, but  gave  everything  he  devised  as  contributions  to  the  ad- 
vancement of  his  profession.  For  several  years  he  made  all  his 
own  instruments,  and  in  1858,  being  in  need  of  an  operating 
chair,  he  made  one  for  himself.  Of  this  chair  he  said  :  ' '  I 
used  to  go  to  church  and  try  to  be  good,  but  that  chair  would  go 
with  me,  and  be  working  its  parts  together  before  the  whole  con- 
gregation." Dr.  Searle  was  a  constant  student  in  everything 
that  related  to  his  profession,  but  more  than  this,  he  was  alive  to 
all  matters  of  intellectual  and  scientific  concern,  a  man  of 
deep  insight  and  accurate  judgment,  always  in  search  of  the 
newest  and  most  advanced  aspects  of  truth  in  whatever  realm. 
It  appears  that  one  Van  Horn,  a  cabinet-maker  of  West  Spring- 
field, made  several  of  the  Searle  dental  chairs  and  put  them  on 
the  market  for  sale.  About  1879,  Dr.  Elroy  F.  Cross  started 
practice  with  one  of  these  chairs,  and  after  being  discarded  by 
him  Dr.  J.  Wesley  Shaw  obtained  it,  and  in  turn  sold  it  to  Wm. 
M.  Williams  of  dental  depot  fame.  In  May,  1888,  the  writer 
obtained  this  chair,  used  it  for  more  than  a  year  and  finally  sold 
it  to  a  dental  house  of  Philadelphia,  Pa.  It  was  even  at  this 
late  day  a  serviceable  and  convenient  chair.  Dr.  Searle  from 
1869  to  the  time  of  his  death  was  located  in  Bill's  block,  342  Main 
street.     He  had  granted  to  him  the  honorary  degree  of  D.  D.  S. 

Dr.  C.  S.  Hurlbut  came  to  Springfield  in  1852.  He  studied 
with  Dr.  George  H.  White  and  was  for  a  time  in  Cleveland,  Ohio. 
He  started  to  go  to  Chicago,  but  was  told  at  Cleveland  that  Chi- 
cago was  not  large  enough  to  support  a  dentist  and  so  remained 
in  Cleveland  for  a  while,  after  which  he  returned  to  this  city. 
In  1858  he  attended  the  Baltimore  Dental  school,  being  the  first 
graduate  of  a  dental  institution  from  this  part  of  the  state.  Dr. 
Hurlbut  early  joined  the  Connecticut  Valley  Dental  society  and 
was  associated  for  many  yeare  in  an  active  capacity  on  various 
committees.  In  1853-4  he  served  on  the  executive  committee: 
in  1865-6  was  treasurer:  in  1877-8  was  2d  vice-president:  in 
1878-80  was  1st  vice-president  and  in    1880-81    was    president. 

(      398      ) 


TILE  DENTAL  PROFESSION 

The  doctor  served  as  preceptor  for  many  practitioners  and  a 
number  of  our  local  dentists  were  students  under  his  guidance. 
He  died  Jan.  (i.  1*)()1.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  was  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Valley  Disti'ict  and  jNIassachusetts  Dental  societies. 
The  members  of  the  first  mentioned  society  attended  his  funeral 
in  a  body  and  passed  resolutions  relative  to  his  worth  and  loss  to 
the  profession. 

Dr.  Lester  Noble,  now  of  Longmeadow,  but  formerly  in 
active  practice  in  AVashington,  D.  C,  and  afterward  of  Spring- 
field, is  the  oldest  dental  graduate  in  this  vicinity.  He  studied 
with  Dr.  Keep  of  Boston,  and  was  at  one  time  a  tutor  at  the  Bal- 
timore Dental  college,  from  which  he  obtained  his  degree.  Dr. 
Keep  commenced  practice  in  Longmeadow  as  early  and  perhaps 
earlier  than  1840.  He  was  employed  in  a  spectacle  factory  and 
"his  first  ''victims''  in  the  new  art  were  his  shopmates  and  their 
families.  However,  he  soon  went  to  Boston  and  became  one  of 
the  most  successful  dentists  in  the  country.  It  was  in  his  ofifice 
that  the  artificial  dental  plate  was  made  for  Dr.  Parkman,  who 
was  murdered  by  Prof.  Webster  of  Harvard  college.  By  the 
testimony  of  Drs.  Keep  and  Noble— then  a  student  with  Dr. 
Keep — Prof.  Webster  was  convicted  of  the  murder.  This  was 
the  most  noted  murder  trial  of  the  time  and  in  fact  one  of  the 
most  noted  of  all  history.  Dr.  Noble,  who  made  the  plate,  was 
summoned  from  the  Baltimore  Dental  college— he  then  being  a 
student  there — and  was  able  to  produce  the  metal  cast  upon 
which  the  plate  found  among  the  remains  of  Dr.  Parkman  was 
made.  The  excitement  that  accompanied  and  followed  the 
bringing  into  juxtaposition  the  plate  and  cast  in  the  court,  and 
the  demonstration  that  each  was  the  counter-part  of  the  other, 
thus  identifying  the  human  fragments  taken  from  the  furnace 
of  Prof.  Webster's,  was  dramatic  in  the  extreme.  Dr.  Noble 
was  demonstrator  of  mechanical  dentistry  at  the  Baltimore  col- 
lege during  1851-2  and  in  September,  1852,  arranged  an  associa- 
tion with  Dr.  Maynard  of  Washington,  which  continued  until 
1859,  when  on  account  of  poor  health  he  was  forced  to  give  up 
practice  for  ten  years.  In  1869  he  opened  an  office  in  this  city, 
and  for  many  years  was  one  of  our  leading  practitioners.      He 

(      399      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

gave  up  active  practice  in  1898,  and  in  that  year  the  Valley  Dis- 
trict Dental  society  presented  him  with  a  memorial  autograph 
album  and  listened  to  a.  very  interesting  paper  of  his 
reminiscences  during  the  early  days  of  the  administra- 
tion of  ether,  for  his  studentship  started  only  one  month 
after  the  first  surgical  operation  under  the  influence  of 
ether  at  the  Massachusetts  General  hospital.  Thus  his  stu- 
dentship saw  the  advent  of  air  chambers,  the  use  of  anaesthesia 
in  surgery  and  the  use  of  amalgam  as  a  filling  material.  He  pre- 
pared a  paper  on  "Personal  Kecollections  of  the  early  use  of  sul- 
phuric ether  as  an  anaesthetic, ' '  which  played  no  small  part  in 
clearing  the  misty  atmosphere  of  those  early  days  in  reference  to 
the  real  discoverer  of  anaesthesia.  Dr.  Noble  is  now  an  honor- 
ary member  of  the  ^Massachusetts  and  Valley  District  Dental 
societies. 

Every  few  years  we  have  had  some  aspirant  spring  up  with 
a  "painless  system  of  dentistry."  The  last  decade  has  pro- 
duced its  crop  in  this  respect,  and  it  is  most  interesting  to  here 
state  that  the  so-called  "painless  dentist"  is  rather  an  ancient 
thing  hereabouts,  for  about  1849  a  INIr.  Davis,  who  kept  a  daguer- 
reotype shop  on  Armory  hill,  branched  out  with  a  painless  sys- 
tem. If  the  daguerreotype  business  did  not  produce  an  income 
the  "painless  method"  certainly  did  for  a  few  years.  His 
"method"  proved  to  be  the  placing  of  arsenic  in  a  carious  and 
aching  tooth  until  the  ache  had  subsided  and  then  filling  over  the 
decay  with  a  substance  composed  of  mercury  and  silver  coin 
filings.  It  certainly  was  painless  for  the  time  being,  but  the 
future  developed  quite  another  result— at  least  his  patients  in 
time  thought  so.  Similar  methods  have  since  been  foisted  on  the 
public  and  the  results  have  been  quite  on  par  with  those  of 
earlier  days.  A  few  years  ago  we  had  the  so-called  "Hale 
Method"  and  history  w^as  again  repeated.  Its  local  sponsor  soon 
lost  his  prestige  and  departed  for  other  fields.  The  intelligent 
public  are  coming  to  understand  that  it  is  best  to  discriminate 
between  the  unethical  and  ethical  practitioners,  and  that  the  use 
of  large  signs  and  the  public  prints  to  call  attention  to  certain 
questionable  methods  of  practice  are  a  delusion  and  a  snare. 

(      400      ) 


THE  DENTAL  PROFESSION 

Dr.  Jesse  Porter  of  Chicopee,  Mass.,  was  born  May  13,  1834, 
in  Detroit,  Michigan.  In  1852,  he  commenced  a  studentship  of 
two  years  with  Dr.  Joseph  Beals  of  Greenfield,  Mass,  Dr.  Beals 
in  the  early  years  of  the  profession  made  a  specialty  of  teaching 
dentistry  and  many  of  the  older  men  were  taught  by  this  con- 
scientious and  learned  practical  dentist.  In  1855  he  worked  for 
his  uncle,  William  Lester,  M.  D.,  of  South  Hadley,  who,  although 
a  physician,  graduate  of  the  Berkshire  Medical  college,  practiced 
dentistry  as  well.  Dr.  Lester  learned  practical  dentistry  from 
Drs.  White  of  Northampton  and  Beals  of  Greenfield.  While 
with  Dr.  Lester,  he  for  part  of  the  time  had  an  office  at  North 
Hadley.  In  May,  1856,  Dr.  Porter  came  to  Chicopee  and  has 
been  located  there  ever  since.  From  1856  to  1859  he  made  occa- 
sional trips  for  a  few  days  to  South  Hadley,  Hadley  and  North 
Hadley,  often  arising  at  4  a.  m.  In  1855,  Dr.  N.  E.  Ames  of 
Springfield  persuaded  him  to  try  two  weeks  with  him  as  mechan- 
ical dentist,  with  a  view  to  future  partnership.  Dr.  Ames  at 
this  time  had  a  circuit  taking  in  the  Brookfields,  Braintree,  War- 
ren, AVare  and  Spencer.  Not  being  in  accord  with  Dr.  Ames  in 
minor  points.  Dr.  Porter  decided  not  to  form  the  partnership. 
As  showing  the  difference  between  the  old  and  the  new  methods 
of  practice,  we  give  an  inventory  of  Dr.  Porter's  office  in  1857. 
A  suite  of  two  ordinary  rooms  at  a  rent  of  $50  per  year,  one  room 
serving  for  operating  and  waiting  room  and  the  other  for  labor- 
atory work.  In  the  first  room  were  an  Archer  dental  chair,  four 
common  wooden  chairs,  a  cabinet  made  from  an  old  instrument 
case  set  on  a  stand,  two  pairs  of  yellow  cotton  curtains,  and  on 
the  floor  a  Bockin  carpet  (a  carpet  not  now  in  use  and  made  of 
cotton  with  a  printed  figure).  The  cabinet  contained  nine  pairs 
of  Chevalier  forceps,  six  ivory  handled  pluggers,  two  dozen  exca- 
vators, and  these  last  included  the  so-called  burs.  The  labora- 
tory contained  a  Chevalier  lathe ;  an  old  table  with  a  filing  block 
and  two  drawers  attached  for  gold  and  silver  Avork ;  alcohol  for 
heating  up  cases  and  soldering;  two  blow  pipes— one  compound 
and  one  mouth  blow  pipe,  a  barrel  of  plaster,  and  a  few  impres- 
sion cups.  While  this  may  seem  a  meagre  outfit  from  present 
point  of  understanding,  yet  in  those  days  it  was  considered  quite 

26-1  (      401      ) 


OLE  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

extravagant,  especially  the  Archer  chair,  for  many  used  nothing 
but  an  ordinary  wooden  rocker.  When  he  came  to  Chicopee,  sev- 
eral practitioners  were  there.  Drs.  Lovejoy,  Buckminster,  Mor- 
gan, Lawrence  and  Robinson,  and  at  Chicopee  Falls  a  Dr.  Henry. 
Dr.  Lovejoy  had  two  sons  who  were  students  in  his  office.  There 
was  no  professional  exchange  of  ideas  or  courtesies,  each  looking 
on  the  other  as  an  instruder.  It  is  interesting  to  record  that  in 
August,  1859,  the  panic  year.  Dr.  Porter  had  in  fees  just  $16.00. 
In  1859  and  a  little  later  there  came  to  Chicopee,  Dr.  Pease  who 
had  studied  with  Dr.  Flavins  Searle  of  Springfield :  Dr.  Rice 
from  Great  Barrington :  Dr.  Waite  and  Dr.  Sweet.  Dr.  Waite 
in  a  few  years  sold  his  practice  to  Dr.  A.  M.  Ross.  There  fol- 
lowed Dr.  Henry  at  the  Falls,  Dr.  C.  T.  Stockwell  and  Dr.  M.  W. 
Miles. 

Between  1855  and  1860  there  was  a  Dr.  Nettleton.  who  lived 
in  AVest  Springfield  next  to  where  the  old  Belden  tavern  stood. 
He  seems  to  have  been  an  itinerant,  fond  of  horses  and  horse 
trading.  He  went  from  house  to  house  soliciting  patronage. 
Traces  of  him  have  been  found  in  Westfield,  Southwick,  Hunt- 
ington and  Chester.  Along  about  1860  he  went  to  Worcester 
and  was  permanently  located  there  for  many  years.  He  died 
there  a  few  years  ago.  Westfield 's  first  practitioner  was  Dr. 
Isaac  Woolworth.  born  May  1.  1810.  in  Pinckney.  N.  Y. :  grad- 
uated from  Fairfield  college,  Herkimer  county.  New  York,  in 
1834.  While  at  this  college  special  attention  was  paid  to  medi- 
cine and  dentistry  and  during  vacation  time  he  prescribed  for 
persons  needing  medical  attention  and  relieved  the  woes  of  those 
needing  dentistry  by  extraction  and  the  filling  of  teeth.  After 
graduation  he  first  practiced  medicine.  Late  in  1834  he  was  in 
Montreal.  Canada,  and  paid  some  little  attention  to  dentistry. 
It  was  at  this  time  that  Montreal  had  its  famous  epidemic  of 
cholera  and  the  doctor  rendered  valuable  aid  in  the  capacity  of 
physician,  many  times  having  to  assist  in  the  burying  of  the 
dead.  In  1836  he  returned  to  the  states  and  located  in  AVestfield, 
at  which  time  it  was  necessary  to  take  his  instruments  and  travel 
about  the  country,  doing  work  in  the  homes  of  his  patients. 
After  a  time  he  had  established  a  patronage  large  enough  to  war- 

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THE  DENTAL  PROFESSION 

rant  his  giving  up  journeying  and  remain  at  his  home  in  AYest- 
field.  In  1839  he  removed  to  Hartford,  but  was  soon  persuaded 
to  remove  to  Southbridge,  Mass..  where  he  remained  until  1842. 
when  he  returned  to  AVestfield  and  practiced  until  1857.  He 
then  removed  to  Meriden.  Conn.,  and  afterward  to  New  Haven ; 
he  died  Feb.  14,  1879.  Dr.  AYoolworth  was  a  worthy  represen- 
tative of  liis  profession  and  had  many  students,  among  whom 
may  be  mentioned  INIartin  Tinker,  Avho  settled  in  St.  Louis,  Mo. ; 
William  Bush  of  Westfield,  who  first  settled  in  Alabama  and 
afterward  in  Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  where  his  sons  practice  dentistry 
at  the  present  time ;  Dr.  Alfred  Woolworth,  a  brother,  who  prac- 
ticed a  number  of  years  at  North  Brookfield :  Anson  Munger  and 
Henry  M.  Miller  of  AYestfield,  both  well  and  favorably  known. 
Dr.  Woolworth  was  a  member  and  a  contributor  by  essays  and 
clinics  to  the  advancement  of  the  Connecticut  Dental  society :  a 
man  of  learning,  of  broad  views  and  progressive  ideas,  enthusias- 
tic in  his  calling,  always  anxious  to  elevate  the  scientific  aspects 
of  his  profession  and  ever  ready  to  give  others  the  benefit  of  his 
years  of  study  in  medicine  and  dental  surgery.  His  students 
always  left  him  to  enter  practice,  filled  with  high  fundamentals 
and  ideals  from  his  master  mind.  Up  to  the  time  he  practiced  at 
Southbridge  he  had  done  no  work  in  artificial  dentistry  and  see- 
ing a  set  of  teeth  Avhich  had  been  made  by  a  Dr.  Morrell  of  AYor- 
cester,  Mass.,  he  called  on  him  and  desired  instruction  in  the  art. 
As  shoAving  the  spirit  of  the  times,  it  is  only  necessary  to  state 
that  he  was  unsuccessful  and  had  to  return  home  and  work  out 
the  problem  unaided.  He  invented  many  useful  appliances  for 
his  own  use,  always  fashioning  his  instruments  to  suit  the  re- 
quirements of  each  case.  In  1870  he  edited  a  book  on  dentistry 
for  the  use  and  instruction  of  his  patrons.  It  is  a  work  worthy 
of  a  place  on  the  shelves  of  every  dental  library.  Dr.  Woolworth 
descended  from  an  old  and  honorable  Massachusetts  family  from 
whom  he  inherited  a  fondness  for  study  and  investigation,  and 
although  living  in  a  new  and  unsettled  country,  where  educa- 
tional advantages  were  almost  unattainable— three  brothers  in 
the  family  acquired  a  profession. 

(      403      ) 


OLE  COrXTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

Dr.  H.  M.  Miller,  now  living  in  "Westfield,  but  not  in  active 
practice,  Avas  born  in  West  Springfield,  June  10,  1826/  He 
taught  school  in  that  neighborhood  for  seven  winters  and  began 
the  study  of  dentistry  Avith  Dr.  Woolworth  in  1849.  On  Sep- 
tember 2,  1851,  he  commenced  practice  at  Plymouth,  but  re- 
turned to  AYestfield  in  October,  1856,  and  has  remained  there 
ever  since,  except  during  the  year  1866.  The  art  of  carving 
teeth  was  learned  from  Dr.  George  H.  AYhite  of  Springfield.  He 
has  ever  been  an  ethical,  conscientious  and  unselfish  practitioner, 
an  active  working  member  of  the  old  Connecticut  Valley  society, 
serving  in  man}'  subordinate  offices  and  its  president  in  1873-4. 
At  present  he  is  an  honorary  member  of  the  Massachusetts  and 
Valley  District  Dental  societies. 

Dr.  E.  Lincoln  Clark  studied  dentistry  in  Northampton  with 
Dr.  Woolworth  of  Westfield  and  located  about  1855  in  Westfield 
and  remained  until  1860,  when  he  left  for  Dubuque,  Iowa,  where 
he  is  still  in  practice.  Dr.  H.  W.  Clapp  studied  with  Dr.  A.  S. 
Flagg  of  Whitinsville,  Mass.,  and  practiced  there  for  a  short 
time.  Leaving  dentistry  he  entered  the  U.  S.  armor}-  where  he 
Avas  employed  for  a  brief  period.  About  1865  he  entered  Dr. 
H.  M.  Miller's  office,  and  in  a  few  months  bought  this  practice. 
He  is  still  in  practice  in  Westfield. 

Dr.  E.  M.  Goodrich,  who  noAv  has  a  summer  practice  at  Cot- 
tage City  and  a  winter  one  in  Florida,  bought  the  practice  of  Dr. 
E.  Lincoln  Clark  in  1860,  but  later  sold  it  to  Dr.  G.  A.  Walkley, 
a  graduate  of  the  New  York  College  of  Dentistry.  Dr.  AYalkley 
is  still  in  practice  there. 

A  student  of  Dr.  E.  Lincoln  Clark's  named  Greenwood  had 
an  office  for  a  short  time  at  Chester,  Mass.  This  was  in  the  early 
sixties. 

Dr.  E.  D.  Hutchinson,  now  a  physician  and  surgeon  of  West- 
field,  also  practiced  dentistry  in  Chester  in  the  late  sixties. 

The  first  resident  dentist  in  Palmer  was  probably  Dr.  Joseph 
Gould.     He  is  known  to  have  been  in  practice  there  in  the  early 

'Dr.  H.  M.  Miller  died  in  Westfield.  April  9.  1902.  His  funeral  was  attend- 
ed by  members  of  many  dental  societies.  The  profession  lost  a  true  member  and 
the  people  a  noble  representative  of  humanity. 

(      404      ) 


THE  DENTAL  PROFESSION 

sixties.  He  had  a  relative,  Dr.  J.  M.  Gould  of  East  Douglass, 
Mass.,  with  whom  he  studied  for  a  few  years.  After  leaving 
Palmer  he  had  an  office  for  a  time  in  the  Massasoit  block  in 
Springfield. 

Dr.  A.  B.  Cowan  of  Springfield,  who  studied  with  Dr.  Fla- 
vins Searle,  w^as  the  next  resident  practitioner  in  Palmer  and 
remained  there  for  many  years.  Before  taking  up  dentistiy  he 
was  an  expert  machinist.  He  died  some  three  years  ago.  He 
was  a  member  of  the  Connecticut  Valley  Dental  society  for  sev- 
eral years.  About  1880  he  had  an  office  for  a  year  in  Spring- 
field. 

Dr.  Cyrus  W.  Cross,  a  veteran  of  the  civil  war,  was  born  in 
Monson,  July  15,  1807,  and  died  in  Palmer  a  few  years  ago.  He 
took  up  the  study  of  dentistry  (after  returning  from  the  war) 
with  Dr.  Joseph  Gould  and  later  with  Dr.  J.  M.  Gould  of  East 
Douglass.  After  completing  his  course  he  had  an  office  for  two 
years  in  Wilbraham.  He  then  returned  to  Palmer  and  was  in 
active  practice  up  to  the  time  of  his  death.  He  joined  the  Con- 
necticut Valley  Dental  society  Oct.  21,  1875,  and  retained  a  mem- 
bership for  several  years. 

The  first  resident  practitioner  in  Holyoke  was  Dr.  George 
Bowers,  who  located  there  in  the  fifties.  At  one  time  Dr.  Bowers 
had  a  son  in  practice  with  him.  He  left  Holyoke  for  Springfield, 
Vermont,  where  he  resided  for  many  years,  afterwards  going  to 
Nashua,  N.  H. 

Dr.  Henry  AYheeler  was  the  next  practitioner  in  Holyoke 
and  was  in  active  practice  in  the  late  fifties  and  early  sixties.  He 
died  in  Maine  several  years  ago.  He  was  a  firm  believer  in 
magic  and  hypnotism  and  practiced  the  latter  to  a  certain  extent. 

Dr.  D.  Murlless  started  in  the  early  sixties  and  is  still  in 
active  practice  in  Holyoke.  He  joined  the  Connecticut  Valley 
Dental  society  June  10,  1869,  and  is  still  a  member  of  its  succes- 
sor body,  the  Northeastern  Dental  association. 

Dr.  H.  0.  Hastings  began  practice  in  Holyoke  in  the  late 
sixties.  He  was  a  student  with  Dr.  AYheeler.  He  joined  the 
Connecticut  Valley  Dental  society  June  17,  1873,  and  was  a 
member  at  time  of  its  consoldiation.     He  is  at  present  a  member 

(      405      ) 


OIK  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

of  the  Massachusetts  and  Valley  District  societies  and  is  still  in 
practice. 

Dr.  Levi  C.  Taylor  studied  "with  Dr.  Bowers  at  Springfield, 
Vermont,  came  to  Holyoke,  Jan.  1,  1868,  and  formed  a  partner- 
ship with  Dr.  Hastings.  The}'  jointly  purchased  Dr.  Wheeler's 
practice.  This  partnership  lasted  for  several  months.  Dr. 
Tayl6r  bought  out  Dr.  Hastings  and  continued  there  until  1875, 
when  he  went  to  Hartford.  Dr.  Taylor  joined  the  Connecticut 
Valley  Dental  society  Oct.  23,  1868,  and  ever  remained  a  true, 
conscientious,  progressive  member.  He  served  in  many  subordi- 
nate offices  and  was  its  president  in  1877-8. 

Drs.  D.  H.  and  E.  C.  Smith,  brothers,  commenced  practice  in 
the  early  seventies.  On  June  13,  1872,  Dr.  D.  H.  Smith  was 
elected  to  membership  in  the  Connecticut  Valley  Dental  society 
and  Dr.  E.  C.  Smith  on  Oct.  3,  1874.  They  retained  membership 
but  a  short  time.  Dr.  E.  C.  Smith  is  now  in  practice  in  West- 
field.  His  brother  is  still  in  Holyoke.  Dr.  D.  G.  Haskins, 
brother  of  Rev.  P.  J.  Haskins,  graduated  from  the  Philadelphia 
Dental  college  and  commenced  practice  in  the  early  seventies. 
He  joined  the  Connecticut  Valley  Dental  society  Oct.  24,  1872, 
but  held  his  membership  only  a  few  years.     He  died  recently. 

Dr.  C.  A.  Brackett,  now  one  of  the  best  and  most  progressive 
dentists  of  Newport,  R.  I.,  was  in  Holyoke  in  the  early  seventies 
serving  studentship  in  the  office  of  Dr.  Levi  C.  Taylor.  He 
joined  the  Connecticut  Valley  Dental  society  June  17,  1873. 

Dr.  G.  S.  H.  Comins  was  in  Holyoke  from  1876  to  1879. 

Dr.  George  A.  Maxfield,  a  graduate  of  the  University  of 
Pennsylvania,  came  to  Holyoke  about  1881  and  is  still  in  active 
practice.  Dr.  Maxfield  has  labored  industriously  to  elevate  the 
standard  of  professional  life  by  active  work  in  the  various  dental 
societies.  For  many  years  he  was  secretary  of  the  Connecticut 
Valley  society  and  it  may  be  said  that  no  one  man  has  done 
greater  good  for  dentistry  in  an  official  capacity.  Since  the  con- 
solidation iTito  the  Northeastern  he  has  refused  its  presidency.  He 
has  read  essays  and  given  clinics  before  many  societies.  He  is 
an  honorary  member  of  the  Vermont,  New  Hampshire.  Delaware 
and  Connecticut  State  associations,  and  ex-president  of  the  Mas- 

(      406      ) 


THE  DENTAL  PROFESSION 

sachusetts  and  a  censor  of  the  Valley  District  societies..  He  has 
been  honored  with  membership  of  the  board  of  registration  in 
dentistry,  and  at  present  is  serving  his  second  term  as  one  of  the 
membership  of  five. 

Dr.  Pardon  Hildreth  Derby  was  born  in  Lowell,  Mass.,  Dec. 
5,  1827,  and  studied  dentistry  with  Dr.  C.  S.  Hurlbut,  sr.  In 
1860  he  opened  an  ofBce  at  the  corner  of  Main  and  Pynchon 
streets,  where  he  remained  until  bnrned  out  by  the  "great  fire." 
Soon  afterward  he  formed  a  partnership  with  Dr.  Flavins  Searle. 
Dr.  Derby  was  probably  the  first  dentist  to  administer  gas  in 
Springfield  for  the  painless  extraction  of  teeth.  About  1860  Dr. 
Colton  gave  a  free  exhibition  in  our  city  hall  of  the  effects  of 
nitrous  oxide  gas  upon  individuals.  Dr.  Derby  remembers  that 
the  late  Tilly  Haynes  and  George  R.  Townsley  inhaled  the  gas, 
the  result  being  that  Mr.  Haynes  chased  Mr.  Townsley  around  the 
platform  to  tlie  amusement  of  the  audience.  Dr.  Colton  on  the 
same  evening  extracted  a  tooth  for  a  person  under  its  deeper 
influence.  This  exhibition  was  a  perfect  success.  Many  practi- 
tioners of  the  later  years  have  been  students  in  his  office.  He 
was  one  of  the  charter  members  of  the  Connecticut  Valley  society 
and  remained  an  active  and  official  member  to  the  time  of  its 
consolidation,  when  he  joined  its  successor — the  Northeastern. 
In  commenting  on  his  career  in  dentistry  Dr.  Derby  has  said : 
"Forty  years  is  a  long  time  to  practice  a  profession,  and  great 
improvements  have  been  made  along  many  lines,  which  enables 
the  practitioner  to  work  more  easily  for  himself  and  his 
patients." 

Dr.  M.  B.  Renslow  served  a  studentship  with  Dr.  Flavins 
Searle  and  opened  an  office  about  1866  on  Main  street.  Being  an 
expert  barber  and  mechanic  he  naturally  was  of  an  inventive 
turn  of  mind  and  early  in  his  career  invented  a  gas  pressure  reg- 
ulator for  use  in  the  manufacture  of  nitrous  oxide  gas.  In 
partnership  with  Dr.  Searle  it  was  put  on  the  market,  but  the 
manufacturers  soon  offered  the  same  article  in  metal  cylin- 
ders, so  the  usefulness  of  the  regulator  was  soon  at  an  end. 
After  remaining  here  about  three  years  Dr.  Renslow  bought  a 
practice  in  Hartford  where  he  died  in  the  course  of  a  few  years. 

(      407      ) 


OLE  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

It  has  been  said  that  Dr.  Renslow  also  invented  a  regulator  for 
controlling  vuleanizers,  but  this  has  never  been  verified. 

Dr.  David  Le  Gro  was  born  in  Ogdensburgh,  N.  Y.,  ^larch 
17,  1801.  For  many  years  he  was  employed  at  the  United  States 
armory  as  an  inspector  and  early  in  his  career  there  extracted 
teeth  for  his  fellow  laborers.  He  opened  an  office  for  evening 
work  at  his  home  on  Byers  street.  Up  to  this  time  his  principal 
attempt  at  dentistry  had  been  in  the  line  of  extraction.  After  a 
few  years  of  such  work  he  left  the  armory  and  began  inserting 
teeth.     He  died  in  Spring-field,  August  24,  1878. 

Dr.  J.  J.  Anderson  was  born  in  Oswego,  X.  Y.,  March  19, 
1832.  He  served  a  studentship  with  his  relative,  Dr.  Le  Gro, 
and  after  a  few  years  had  passed  he  joined  the  Connecticut 
Valley  Dental  society  October  31,  1865,  and  a  few  years  after- 
ward graduated  from  the  Philadelphia  Dental  college.  Dr. 
Anderson  developed  into  a  thorough,  educated  and  ethical  repre- 
sentative of  dentistry,  and  soon  had  a  lucrative  practice.  For 
his  time  and  years  he  was  one  of  the  best  representatives  of  the 
profession.  He  served  in  many  subordinate  positions  in  the  Con- 
necticut Valley  society  and  was  its  president  in  1874-5.  He  died 
in  this  city  March  8,  1877.  Dr.  Anderson  always  acknowledged 
obligations  to  the  Connecticut  Valley  society  membership  in 
starting  him  on  the  accepted  and  correct  professional  life.  After 
his  death,  his  son,  Dr.  Charles  L.  Anderson,  a  graduate  of  the 
Philadelphia  Dental  college,  conducted  the  practice.  He  had  a 
successful  career  for  a  few  years  previous  to  his  removal  to 
"Washington.  D.  C,  where  he  has  since  practiced. 

Dr.  J.  N.  Dodge,  a  veteran  of  the  civil  war.  studied  dentistry 
with  his  uncle.  Dr.  Nettleton  of  "Worcester,  and  located  in  Spring- 
field about  1867  or  '68.  He  was  an  amateur  artist  and  sculptor 
and  had  much  artistic  instinct.  For  many  years  he  enjoyed  a 
large  practice.  He  was  the  inventor  of  an  ether  inhaler  which 
was  used  locally  for  some  time.  Experimenting  with  ana3sthetics 
brought  him  into  a  better  understanding  of  nitrous  oxide  gas  and 
he  formed  a  company  for  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  "Com- 
pound Oxygen."  It  was  not  successful  and  the  doctor  lost 
money  in  the  enterprise.     He  was  a  member  of  the  Connecticut 

(      408      ) 


THE  DENTAL  PROFESSION 

Yalley  society  though  never  prominent  in  its  work.  He  died  in 
this  city  about  four  years  ago. 

Dr.  S.  B.  Bartholomew  was  born  September  15,  1828,  in 
Hamilton,  New  York.  He  attended  the  common  schools  and  Col- 
gate academy  where  his  step-father,  Professor  Morse,  was  for 
many  years  principal.  About  1847  he  came  to  Worcester  and 
studied  dentistry  with  Dr.  Newton.  About  1848  he  opened  an 
office  in  Woonsocket,  R.  I.,  and  practiced  there  with  success  for 
some  years.  He  served  two  terms  in  the  Ehode  Island  assembly. 
During  the  time  Governor  Sprague  was  chief  executive  of  Rhode 
Island,  he  served  on  his  staff  with  the  rank  of  colonel.  From 
1861  to  1865  he  -vvas  officially  connected  with  the  recruiting  de- 
partment of  Rhode  Island.  At  the  close  of  the  war  he  returned 
to  Worcester,  bought  an  interest  in  the  Gazette  and  for  the  next 
few  years  acted  in  the  capacity  of  advertising  solicitor,  business 
manager  and  editor.  About  1869  he  sold  out  his  newspaper 
interests,  and  after  a  period  of  travel,  came  to  Springfield  and 
opened  an  office  in  the  block  where  now  the  D.  H.  Brigham  Co.  is 
located.  He  retired  from  active  practice  in  1895.  On  June  16, 
1870,  he  joined  the  Connecticut  Valley  Dental  association,  serv- 
ing in  many  offices.  While  serving  on  its  executive  committee 
he  did  such  good  work  that  it  is  even  spoken  of  at  the  present 
day.  In  the  earlj^  eighties  he  was  for  three  years  a  lecturer  at 
the  Baltimore  Dental  college  and  presented  many  lectures  and 
clinics  of  a  varied  nature.  He  is  remembered  as  a  speaker  of 
ability  and  few  in  his  day  equalled  him  as  a  forceful,  logical, 
extemporaneous  orator.  He  is  said  to  have  obtained  his  first 
knowledge  of  elocution  and  oratory  from  Prof.  Raymond  of  Vas- 
sar  college.  While  in  this  city  he  enjoyed  a  lucrative  practice. 
He  died  November  11,  1898,  in  Boston,  and  was  buried  in 
Thompson,  Conn.  For  many  years  of  his  life  the  doctor  was 
interested  in  copper  mines,  and  at  the  time  of  his  death  derived 
a  considerable  income  from  this  source. 

Dr.  James  E.  O'Brien  graduated  from  Springfield  high 
school  with  the  class  of  1879.  He  served  a  studentship  of  four  or 
five  years  with  Dr.  J.  N.  Dodge  and  afterward  graduated  from 
the  Philadelphia  Dental  college.     About  1880  he  opened  an  office 

(      409      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

in  Fallon's  block,  880  Main  street,  Avliere  he  remained  for  about 
thirteen  years,  until  ill  health  eonipclled  him  to  give  up  hard 
professional  work.  Jle  was  a  member  of  the  Connecticut  Valley 
society,  though  never  active  in  its  affairs. 

Dr.  John  F.  O'Neill  was  a  graduate  of  our  high  school  and 
the  Philadelphia  Dental  college.  His  first  ofifice  Avas  at  357  Main 
street  and  his  last  in  the  Fuller  block.  He  was  a  member  of  the 
Connecticut  Valley,  Massachusetts  and  Valley  District  societies. 
He  died  in  this  city  in  1897. 

Ambrose  J.  Devereaux  served  a  studentship  Avith  Dr.  P.  H. 
Derby  during  1873-4  and  afterwards  went  to  New  Haven  where 
he  died  about  eight  years  ago. 

George  M.  Slate  was  a  student  with  Dr.  Lester  Noble  for 
more  than  a  year  and  graduated  from  the  Philadelphia  Dental 
college.  He  had  an  office  at  438  Main  street  in  1874-5.  He  soon 
afterAvard  left  for  Australia  and  became  the  foremost  practition- 
er in  Melbourne. 

Dr.  Ralph  Morgan,  who  practiced  in  Chicopee  many  years, 
came  from  that  town  to  Springfield  and  had  an  office  for  a  short 
time  in  the  Massasoit  House  block. 

Dr.  Charles  D.  Carter  spent  a  studentship  of  about  two 
years  Avith  Dr.  C.  S.  Hvirlbut,  sr.,  and  then  graduated  from  the 
Philadelphia  Dental  college.  In  1874  he  opened  an  office  at  162 
Chestnut  street,  and  soon  had  a  large  clientage.  About  1880  he 
Avas  compelled  to  seek  a  more  favorable  climate  in  California 
Avhere  he  died  soon  after  arriving  there. 

NcAvton  Morgan,  a  descendant  of  ]\Iiles  Morgan,  one  of  the 
early  settlers  of  Springfield,  Avas  born  in  West  Springfield,  Octo- 
ber 25,  1840.  His  early  life  Avas  the  common  one  of  the  farmer's 
boy  of  that  period.  His  education  Avas  acquired  in  the  common 
and  select  schools  and  at  the  age  of  se\"enteen  j^ears,  terminated 
in  a  few  terms  at  Avhat  was  then  known  as  the  ' '  new ' '  academy  at 
VTestfield,  Mass.  Thinking  for  some  time  of  choosing  "mechan- 
ics" as  an  avocation,  the  Avinter  of  1858  Avas  spent  Avith  Milton 
Bradley,  Avho  then  had  a  draughting  school  in  this  city.  The 
plans,  hoAvever,  did  not  mature  satisfactorily  and  later  he  decided 
to  enter  the  ranks  of  dentistry.     The  matriculation  for  the  study 

(      410      ) 


TEE  DENTAL  PROFESSION 

of  this  calling  was  on  January  1,  1861,  in  the  office  of  a  well 
known  dentist  in  Connecticut  and  later  for  a  time  in  the  office  of 
Dr.  C.  S.  Hurlbut,  sr.,  of  this  city.  After  a  few  years  of  prac- 
tice he  entered  the  Philadelphia  Dental  college  and  graduated 
with  the  class  of  1869.  Since  that  time  he  has  had  a  continuous 
practice  in  Springfield.  On  June  5,  1866,  he  became  a  member 
of  the  Connecticut  Valley  Dental  society  and  from  that  time  to 
the  consolidation  into  the  Northeastern  he  has  been  an  interested 
worker  in  the  offices  of  chairman  of  the  executive  committee, 
treasurer  and  president.  He  is  now  an  honorary  member  of  the 
Vermont  state  society  and  an  active  member  of  the  Massachusetts, 
Valley  District  and  Northeastern  Dental  societies.  In  the  days 
of  the  New  England  Dental  Journal,  Dr.  INIorgan  did  much  to 
further  the  good  work  of  the  periodical.  To  the  younger  men 
he  has  been  a  source  of  inspiration  and  help  in  many  ways  and 
has  always  stood  for  the  higher  professional  life. 

Jarius  Searle  Hurlbut  was  born  in  West  Springfield,  Janu- 
ary 5,  1842.  At  the  age  of  ten  years  his  parents  moved  to  this 
city  and  he  was  graduated  at  the  high  school,  under  Ariel  Parish, 
in  1860.  He  then  went  into  the  dental  office  of  his  brother. 
Dr.  C.  S.  Hurlbut,  sr..  with  whom  he  was  associated  as  student 
and  partner  until  he  entered  the  Philadelphia  Dental  college, 
from  which  he  was  duly  graduated  in  the  class  of  '65.  He  went 
west  to  begin  practice;  but,  after  spending  a  year  in  St.  Paul, 
Minn.,  he  returned  to  Springfield.  On  June  5,  1866,  he  joined 
the  Connecticut  Valley  Dental  society  and  served  it  in  the  capac- 
ity of  an  executive  officer  and  president.  He  is  a  member  of  the 
Valley  District  and  the  Massachusetts  Dental  societies,  serving 
the  last  as  president,  orator,  and  a  member  of  the  executive  com- 
mittee. He  also  is  a  member  of  the  Northeastern  Dental  associa- 
tion, the  American  academy  of  dental  science,  the  National  Den- 
tal association  and  the  Odontological  society  of  New  York  city. 
On  the  passage  of  the  state  dental  law  in  1887  he  was  appointed 
by  Governor  Ames  a  member  of  the  board  of  registration  and 
from  1891  to  1895  he  served  as  its  president.  He  has  also  been 
president  of  the  American  Association  of  Dental  examiners.  In 
1893  he  was  a  member  of  the  International  Dental  congress. 

(      411      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

Chester  Twichell  Stockwell  was  born  in  Ro^^alston,  ]\Iass., 
Sept.  5,  1841.  He  attended  the  common  and  high  schools  of 
Royalston  and  Winchendon,  and  later  graduated  from  Eastman's 
Business  college  of  Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.  He  engaged  in  com- 
mercial pursuits  in  1863-6  in  Worcester  and  North  Carolina.  In 
1867-8  he  studied  medicine  with  Dr.  Saunders  of  Fitchburg  and 
afterward  matriculated  at  one  of  the  Philadelphia  colleges.  How- 
ever, he  soon  left  and  went  to  Des  INIoines,  Iowa,  where  for  two 
years  he  served  on  the  staff  of  the  Iowa  State  Register  and  other 
newspapers  while  in  the  west.  Studied  dentistry  with  J.  Todd, 
M.  D.,  and  was  associated  in  practice  with  Dr.  James  Watts.  In 
1872-5  he  ^tas  in  practice  for  himself  and  soon  built  up  an  ex- 
tensive clientele.  While  at  Des  Moines  he  was  for  two  years 
secretary  of  the  Iowa  Central  Dental  society.  His  health  fail- 
ing, he  was  compelled  to  give  up  practice  and  seek  a  more  favor- 
able climate  in  Denver,  Colorado.  After  a  short  sojourn  there 
he  came  to  Springfield  in  1875  and  for  the  first  year  thereafter  he 
was  associated  with  Dr.  Lester  Noble,  and  for  the  following  three 
years  with  Dr.  J.  Searle  Hurlbut.  He  then  went  into  practice 
for  himself,  first  in  Bill's  block,  then  in  Dickinson's  block  and 
still  later  in  the  Republican  block,  his  present  location.  He 
early  joined  the  Connecticut  Valley  society  and  served  on  the 
executive  committee,  as  secretary  for  four  years  and  as  president 
in  1879-80.  He  is  an  ex-member  of  the  American  Academy  of 
Dental  science  and  of  the  American  Dental  association.  He  is 
an  active  member  of  the  IMassachusetts,  Valley  District  and 
Northeastern  Dental  societies,  an  honorary  member  of  the 
Odontological  society  of  New  York  city,  a  corresponding  member 
of  the  Brooklyn  Ethical  association  and  an  active  member  of  the 
Springfield  Literary  club. 

A  history  of  dentistry  in  Hampden  county  would  indeed  be 
incomplete  without  some  reference  to  events  and  circumstances 
which  have  had  a  part  in  its  progress  and  prosperity.  The  or- 
ganization of  the  Connecticut  Valley  Dental  society  deserves 
more  than  passing  notice.  A  few  of  the  dentists  of  Western  Ncav 
England,  feeling  the  need  of  associative  effort  for  the  promotion 
of  the  interests  of  dental  science,    assembled    at   the   Massasoit 

(      412      ) 


THE  DENTAL  PROFESSION 

house  on  the  evening  of  November  10,  1863,  and  formed  the 
society.  A  constitution  and  by-laws  was  adopted  and  the  follow- 
ing persons  residing  in  Hampden  county  signed  the  roll :  Drs. 
F.  Searle,  N.  E.  Ames,  P.  H.  Derby  and  C.  S.  Hurlbut  of  Spring- 
field ;  H.  M.  Miller  of  Westfield,  Henry  Wheeler  of  Holyoke,  and 
A.  B.  Cowan  of  Palmer.  Dr.  Searle  was  elected  president,  Dr. 
Miller,  treasurer  and  Dr.  Hurlbut  member  of  the  executive  com- 
mittee. Annual  meetings  (often  more  frequently)  were  held 
until  1894,  when  in  company  with  the  New  England  Dental  so- 
ciety the  organization  Avas  merged  into  the  Northeastern  Dental 
association.  The  formation  of  the  society  in  1863  was  the  begin- 
ning of  the  professional  association  and  advancement  in  this 
region.  Non-membership  in  the  society  was  considered  a  lack 
in  some  of  the  essentials  of  professional  qualification.  Its  honor- 
able records  attest  to  its  inestimable  worth.  The  formation  of  a 
study  club  in  the  early  eighties  under  the  guidance  of  Prof. 
Mayr  and  the  founding  of  the  New  England  Journal  of  Dent- 
istry in  Springfield  in  1882  with  Dr.  C.  T.  Stockwell  as  editor, 
were  two  more  events  worthy  of  mention.  Prof.  Mayr  was  a 
master  of  chemistry  and  bacteriology  and  soon  made  a  name  for 
himself  in  the  world  of  dental  science.  He  is  still  living  and 
one  of  Chicago's  most  noted  chemists.  Another  event  which 
aided  in  the  advancement  of  the  profession  was  the  formation  of 
the  Connecticut  Valley  Dental  depot  in  this  city  in  1839.  In 
that  year  J.  C.  Parsons  (late  paper  manufacturer  of  Holyoke) 
sold  out  his  drug  store  (located  opposite  court  square)  to  C.  L. 
Covin.  E.  Biglow  bought  Mr.  Covill  out  in  1845,  and  in  1860 
AYilliam  M.  Williams  came  there  to  work.  He  served  two  years 
as  clerk  and  five  years  as  a  member  of  the  firm.  In  1867  Mr. 
AAHlliams  sold  out  his  interest  in  the  drug  store  and 
buying  the  dental  and  surgical  department  moved  it  up- 
stairs, where  it  has  since  been  located.  The  Avorth  and 
convenience  of  a  good  dental  depot  can  only  be  appre- 
ciated by  one  in  active  practice.  We  have  always  been 
specially  favored  and  assisted  in  our  efforts  by  Mr.  Williams 
and  his  assistant,  the  late  Jesse  Hosmer.  For  years  this  was  the 
only  supply  house  in  New  England  outside  of  Boston.       From 

(      413      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

1845  to  1855  we  had  a  second  supply  house  in  the  drug  store  of 
B.  K.  Bliss,  which  stood  on  the  corner  of  Bliss  and  ]\Iain  streets. 
In  May,  1864,  the  ^Massachusetts  Dental  society  was  formed 
at  Boston,  Mass.,  and  incorporated  in  April,  1865.  Dr.  N.  C. 
Keep,  formerly  of  Longmeadow,  was  its  second  president  serving 
in  1864-65-66.  Dr.  J.  Searle  Hurlbut  of  Springfield  was  the 
eighth  president  in  1874:  Dr.  Flavins  Searle  of  Springfield  the 
sixteenth  in  1882 :  Dr.  George  A.  Maxfield  of  Holyoke  the  twenty- 
eighth  in  1895.  To  further  help  the  good  work  of  the  state  so- 
ciety it  was  decided  to  divide  the  state  into  five  districts 
and  the  Valley  District  was  formed  at  Springfield,  Jan.  21,  1895. 
The  state  society  has  an  annual  meeting  the  first  week  in  June, 
while  the  district  meets  the  third  jMonday  of  September,  October, 
Xovembei',  December,  January,  February,  March,  April  and 
May.  A  chairman  is  selected  at  each  meeting  of  the  district  to 
preside  for  that  meeting.  Dr.  Andrew  J.  Flanagan  of  Spring- 
field has  been  secretary  from  the  formation.  Dr.  C.  S.  Hurlbut, 
jr.,  of  Springfield  has  been  treasurer  for  the  last  three  years.  Drs. 
D.  Hurlbut  Allis,  H.  C.  IMedcraft  of  Springfield  and  Eliot  T. 
Dickinson  of  Northampton,  the  present  executive  committee. 
The  following  are  members  of  both  the  JNIassachusetts  and  Valley 
District  societies.  Drs.  Stockwell,  J.  Searle  Hurlbut,  Morgan, 
Allis,  Bugbee,  Baldwin,  Swazey,  Medcraft,  Wiley,  Leitch,  Boyn- 
ton,  ]\IacDonald,  Smith,  Andrews,  C.  S.  Hurlbut,  jr..  J.  W.  Shaw. 
D.  C.  Shaw  and  Flanagan  of  Springfield  and  Noble  of  Long- 
meadow  :  Shaw,  Saunders  and  Miller  of  Westfield ;  Porter  of 
Chicopee ;  Miles  of  Chicopee  Falls ;  Roche  of  Palmer :  Soule  of 
Monson:  ■Maxfield,  Mitivier,  O'Donnell,  Hastings,  O'Rielly,  Bart- 
lett  and  Scolley  of  Holyoke.  It  may  be  stated  that  the  members 
of  these  societies  have  a  "code  of  ethics,"  and  stand  for  intelli- 
gent, conservative  and  higher  professional  life.  Men  who  stand 
for  such  are  always  eligible  for  membership,  while  those  outside 
these  requirements  are  never  enrolled.  When  a  practitioner  of 
dentistry  is  not  a  member  of  his  state  and  district  society  the  pub- 
lic can  look  on  him  with  suspicion  as  regards  professional  stand- 
ing. What  is  known  as  the  "code  of  ethics"  always  has  been 
the  only  time  guide  for  the  profession  in  its  dealings  and  asso- 
ciations with  the  public. 

(      414      ) 


THE  DENTAL  PROFESSION 

In  the  early  eighties  the  Massachusetts,  Connecticut  Valley 
and  New  England  Dental  societies  deemed  it  advisable  to  have 
laws  regulating  the  practice  of  dentistry  and  started  plans  in 
various  ways  to  bring  this  about.  In  1887  the  law  was  passed 
and  went  into  force.  It  was  amended  in  1900.  The  Massa- 
chusetts board  of  registration  in  dentistry  consists  of  five  mem- 
bers appointed  by  the  governor,  and  we  are  happy  to  state  that 
it  has  always  been  free  from  bias  and  politics  and  ranks  the  equal 
of  any.  The  state  examinations  have  done  much  to  elevate  the 
standard  of  dentistry  and  words  of  appreciation — from  the 
advanced  minds  in  the  profession — have  been  freely  showered 
on  the  various  examiners.  The  law  has  marked  a  distinct  epoch 
in  the  history  of  dentistry  in  Massachusetts. 

The  good  work  being  accomplished  by  dentistry  along  cer- 
tain lines  has  been  recognized  by  our  hospitals,  and  we  find  Dr, 
J.  Searle  Hurll)ut  the  dental  surgeon  on  the  staff  of  the  Spring- 
field hospital  and  Drs.  P.  J.  MacDonald  and  Andrew  J.  Flana- 
gan, dental  surgeons  on  the  staff  of  the  Mercy  hospital  in  Spring- 
field. 

The  compilation  of  this  chapter  devoted  to  dentistry  has 
been  a  matter  of  many  hours  of  research  and  the  following  out 
of  many  points  and  hints.  It  has  seemed  to  me  that  one  older 
in  dentistry  should  have  undertaken  the  task.  This  not  being 
practical,  the  writer  took  the  matter  up  through  respect  and  love 
for  his  profession  —  and  by  the  wish  of  many  of  our  local  society 
members.  It  has  indeed  seemed  'strange  to  me  that  dentistry 
was  not  recognized  as  of  sufficient  importance  in  1886  to  have  a 
history  written  at  the  250th  anniversary  of  Springfield. 

There  may  be  errors — but  they  are  those  of  an  honest  en- 
deavor—and as  such  should  be  excused.  It  indeed  would  be 
unjust  if  due  credit  were  not  given  to  Dr.  C.  T.  Stockwell  for  the 
use  of  many  notes  and  facts  he  had  prepared  for  the  Columbian 
Dental  congress;  to  Drs.  Newton  Morgan,  C.  S.  Hulburt.  sr.. 
Jesse  Porter,  Lester  Noble,  H.  0.  Hastings,  H.  M.  Miller,  all  of  our 
local  society,  and  Levi  C.  Taylor,  James  and  Charles  McManus  of 
the    Connecticut    Dental    society,    for    manuscripts,    ideas    and 

(      415      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

letters.  To  the  Springfield  Republican,  Homestead,  and  City 
library  for  the  nse  of  local  historical  facts  gained  from 
papers,  manuscripts  and  books ;  to  AVilliam  M.  "Williams  of  our 
local  dental  depot,  and  to  the  records  of  the  Connecticut  Valley, 
Massachusetts,  Northeastern  and  Valley  District  Dental  societies. 


CHAPTER  XXI 


THE  PRESS  OF  HAMPDEN  COUNTY— ITS   HISTORY  AND 
DEVELOPMENT 

WRITTEN  AND  ARRANGED  UNDER  THE  SUPERVISION  OF  L.   N.  CLARK,  EDITOR 
OF   THE   WESTFIELD  TIMES   AND  NEWS   LETTER 

Hampden  county  is  old  in  years,  and  in  its  history  has  wit- 
nessed the  birth,  more  or  less  brief  existence,  and  final  issue  of 
many  an  ambitious  paper.  The  newspaper  graveyard  of  the 
county  is  filled  with  young  hopefuls,  started  to  cut  a  figure  in 
tOAvn,  county  and  the  nation,  but  from  a  variety  of  causes, 
notably  the  lack  of  money,  they  wavered,  struggled  and  sank  in 
despair.  Then  there  are  the  hundreds  of  more  or  less  pretentious, 
publications  that  have  been  issued  by  societies,  schools,  and 
benevolent  organizations,  which  maj"  properly  be  noticed  in  the 
discussion  of  the  press  of  the  county.  And  it  may  be  gathered 
from  the  history  of  the  newspaper  life  of  this,  as  well  as  of  other 
sections,  that  the  ability  to  make  a  money-making  affair  of  a 
paper  is  by  no  means  the  gift  of  every  man,  and  is  beyond  ques- 
tion often  as  severe  a  test  as  could  be  imposed  by  any  line  of 
trade  or  profession.  It  is  a  survival  of  the  fittest,  and  of  these 
there  is  room  for  but  a  few.  Fully  a  dozen  of  the  towns  of 
Hampden  county  have  no  newspaper  of  local  production.  Some 
of  the  publishers  in  the  larger  towns  issue  editions  bearing  head- 
ings adapted  to  some  of  the  aforesaid  small  places,  but  they  are 
merely  special  editions.  ]\Iany  attempts  have  been  made  to  sup- 
ply "long-felt  wants"  in  some  of  the  smaller  places,  but  usually 

(      416      ) 


THE  PBES8 

with  very  brief  periods  of  actual  existence.  Thus,  in  towns  like 
Blanclford,  Granville,  Southwick  or  Longmeadow,  where  each  of 
the  important  city  papers  have  paid  correspondents,  such  papers 
give  the  inhabitants  all  that  could  be  desired  or  expected  in  the 
way  of  local  and  general  news;  and  the  venturesome  spirit,  who 
fancies  he  sees  fame  and  fortune  in  publishing  a  paper  in  a  farm- 
ing community,  may  try  the  experiment  only  to  be  rudely 
awakened  from  a  dream.  Not  that  there  is  not  news  created  in 
the  smaller  places,  but  the  conditions  are  such  that  the  village 
must  be  content  to  read  its  items  under  its  village  name  in  the 
newspaper  of  the  more  populous  town. 

The  first  newspapers  of  the  county  were  produced  slowly  in 
all  the  processes,  from  the  wetting  down  of  the  few  humble  quires 
of  paper  for  the  edition,  through  the  type  setting,  to  the  laborious 
press  work,  and  even  in  the  delivery  to  subscribers,  some  of  whom 
called  for  their  papers  at  the  office  of  publication,  others  at  the 
post-office,  and  still  others  were  served  by  carrier  boj^s.  The 
stage  coach  was  the  mode  of  communication  between  the  towns 
of  the  county,  for  many  years,  and  it  was  considered  proper  to 
accept  as  a  ''news"  paper  one  that  had  been  off  the  press  several 
days.  AA^ith  the  advent  of  the  railroads  that  have  traversed  the 
county  in  all  directions,  distribution  became  a  matter  of  better 
system,  and  our  city  dailies  now  reach  their  readers,  local,  and 
in  suburban  towns  in  a  very  short  time  after  leaving  the  press. 
The  bulletin  feature  is  made  the  most  of,  and  one  gets  a  fore- 
taste of  the  news  at  the  door  of  all  enterprising  news  stands 
throughout  this  territory.  With  the  advent,  too,  of  the  Western 
railroad,  news  gathering  began  to  be  somewhat  systematized,  and 
the  items  obtained  from  the  trainmen,  and  brought  in  from  up 
and  down  the  line,  were  important  factors.  Previous  to  this, 
the  scissors  and  paste-pot  were  mightier  than  the  pen,  and  long- 
winded  articles,  mostly  reprint  on  general  matters,  temperance, 
religion,  etc.,  were  the  rule,  with  a  marked  absence  of  the  pithy 
items  and  brief  paragraphs  that  are  the  life  of  modern  journals. 

An  important  duty  devolving  upon  historical  societies  and 
individuals  is  the  careful  preservation  of  the  files  that  have  been 
handed  down  to  us   by   the    earlier   newspaper   publishers,  for 

27-1  (417      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

therein  as  nowhere  else  may  be  found  the  real  and  detailed  his- 
tory of  their  period  of  publication,  the  facts  at  first  hands ;  and 
with  the  destruction  of  such  files  dies  invaluable  historical  ma- 
terial— impossible  to  replace— the  work  of  pens  long  since  laid 
aside. 

And  none  the  less  carefully  should  be  guarded  the  time- 
honored  and  faithful  mechanical  equipments  or  such  remnants 
as  may  be  available.  Theirs  has  been  a  noble  mission,  well  car- 
ried out  — to  enlighten  the  world,  to  stimulate  thought,  to  spread 
education— in  short,  to  civilize  and  Christianize.  These  tools, 
among  the  most  worthy  of  any  in  the  arts  and  crafts  of  men,  are 
worthy  of  unstinted  room  in  whatever  storehouse  of  treasures 
historical  the  country  may  contain.  Of  the  graphic  features  of 
the  press  of  Hampden  county,  it  may  be  said  that  they  are  of 
comparatively  recent  introduction.  The  "process"  engravings 
have  opened  a  new  field  in  newspaper  illustration,  which  is  not 
ignored  by  the  progressive  publishers  of  the  county,  and  the  pub- 
lic itself  actually  demands  "pictures."  The  early  files  show 
nothing  in  the  way  of  cuts,  save  occasionally  a  state  seal  or  spread 
eagle  worked  in  as  part  of  the  heading.  Even  the  advertise- 
ments, apart  from  an  occasional  small  cut  of  a  runaway  boy,  or 
the  stereotyped  frame  house  set  into  every  notice  of  real  estate 
for  sale,  were  in  plain  type  and  unadorned.  Gradually,  how- 
ever, the  publishers  and  their  clients  learned  that  pictures 
speak  a  universal  language,  and  that  a  good  illustration  will  in 
itself  tell,  at  a  glance,  a  story  beyond  the  power  of  columns  of 
type  to  tell,  and  forthwith  gave  cuts  their  proper  place.  On  occa- 
sion, a  news  item  or  story  may  now  be  fully  pictured,  put  into  the 
forms,  printed,  and  find  its  way  into  the  reader's  hands  in  an 
hour  from  the  event. 

THE  PRESS  OP  SPRINGFIELD 

The  first  paper  published  in  the  county  was  the  Massachu- 
setts Gazette,  or  the  General  Advertiser  in  Springfield,  in  May, 
1782.  Babcock  &  Haswell  were  the  proprietors,  theirs  being  also 
the  first  printing  office  established  in  the  city.  As  was  the  cus- 
tom with  newspapers  of  the  early  days,  the  heading  was  followed 

(      418      ) 


TEE  PRESS 

by  a  motto,  reading-,  in  their  case,  as  follows:  ''  'Tis  not  in  mor- 
tals to  command  success,  but  we'll  do  more— we'll  deserve  it." 

In  1784,  two  years  after  the  starting  of  the  paper,  the  firm 
dissolved  and  both  partners  sought  other  fields,  the  office  passing 
into  the  hands  of  Brooks  &  Russell.  On  the  first  of  January, 
1785,  the  name  of  the  Massachusetts  Gazette  was  exchanged  for 
the  Hampshire  Herald  and  Weekly  Advertiser.  A  few  months 
later  Mr.  Brooks  withdrew  from  the  firm,  and  in  August,  1786, 
the  Herald  was  controlled  by  a  new  company,  Stebbins  &  Russell. 
The  paper  was  permanently  discontinued  on  the  first  of  January, 
1787. 

T]ie  Hampshire  Chronicle  was  commenced  two  months  later 
by  John  Russell,  the  paper  rising  from  the  ruins  of  its  predeces- 
sor. The  spirit  of  the  press  was  not  destined  to  remain  long 
dormant,  and  amid  the.  hardships  of  early  publishing  and  fre- 
quent suspensions,  the  editorial  star  of  hope  ever  shone  brightly, 
leading  to  new  ventures.  The  office  of  the  Hampshire  Chronicle 
was  located  on  Ferry  street.  Its  equipment,  like  that  of  all  the 
American  printing  offices  of  its  time,  was  modest.  The  crude 
hand  press,  whose  operation  called  for  no  mean  degree  of  physical 
strength,  and  producing,  at  best,  an  impression  none  too  clear; 
the  modest  assortment  of  Roman  letter,  more  or  less  battered  with 
use ;  the  primitive  method  of  inking  the  forms  by  means  of  the 
large  and  unwieldy  ink  balls,  were  in  vogue.  The  pioneer  pub- 
lisher was  a  man  of  great  versatility.  He  was  a  scholar-mechanic, 
a  worker  with  brain  and  brawn,  content,  for  small  material  com- 
pensation, to  guide  his  fellow  citizens  in  the  way  of  right  and  keep 
them  informed,  as  well  as  the  slow  means  of  communication 
allowed,  of  the  world 's  great  events  as  well  as  of  the  country, 
state,  and  the  town's  growth  and  progress.  In  less  than  a  year 
after  its  initial  number  was  issued,  the  Chronicle  passed  into  the 
hands  of  AYeld  &  Thomas.  Their  printing  office  stood  on  the 
ground  now  occupied  by  the  Chicopee  bank  near  the  south-east 
corner  of  Court  square.  The  immediate  vicinity  was  for  many 
years  the  center  of  the  town's  printing  industry.  The  popula- 
tion was  small,  and  Main  street,  then  a  mere  residence  street,  bor- 
dered with  farms,  and  here  and  there  a  modest  shop  or  store. 

(      419      ) 


01 R  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

In  December,  1790,  the  Chronicle  appeared,  bearing  the  im- 
print of  Mr.  AVeld  alone,  and  two  years  later  the  name  of  the 
sheet  was  changed  to  the  Hampshire  and  Berkshire  Chronicle, 
and,  as  its  name  might  imply,  purporting  to  be  the  representative 
newspaper  of  the  territory  of  AVestern  ^Massachusetts.  Follow- 
ing the  order  of  frequent  changes,  one  year  later,  in  1793,  the 
name  of  Edward  Gray  appeared  as  publisher. 

In  1793,  the  monopoly  of  the  newspaper  jfield,  long  enjoyed 
by  the  Chronicle,  was  disturbed  by  the  advent  of  the  Federal  Spy, 
which  started  with  the  new  year,  James  R.  Hutchins  being  the 
proprietor,  he  having  grown  up  in  the  business  under  the  guid- 
ance of  a  former  local  journalist,  Isaiah  Thomas.  "With  the  ad- 
vent of  an  "esteemed  contemporary"  in  the  field,  the  Chronicle 
weakened,  and  soon  after  died,  its  proprietor  some  time  later  con- 
ducting a  newspaper,  the  "American  Intelligencer,"  published 
over  the  river  on  the  AYest  Springfield  side,  Avhich  also  expired 
at  a  tender  age,  after  the  many  trials  and  tribulations  peculiar 
to  struggling  young  journalism. 

The  founder  of  the  Federal  Spy  left  the  town  soon  after  the 
paper  was  started,  being  succeeded  by  Messrs.  John  Worthington 
Hooker  and  Francis  Stebbins.  In  May,  1796,  the  firm  dissolved, 
and  Mr.  Stebbins  continued  as  sole  proprietor  until  September 
26,  1799,  Avhen  he  sold  to  Timothy  Ashley,  who  stood  at  the  helm 
and  guided  the  journalistic  craft  safely  into  the  new  century.  In 
1801,  Mr.  Henry  Brewer  was  taken  into  partnership  and  two 
years  later,  became  sole  publisher,  continuing  until  1806,  when 
he  sold  out  to  Mr.  Thomas  Dickman,  a  native  of  Boston,  and  a 
man  of  considerable  previous  experience  in  the  newspaper  field. 
He  at  once  changed  the  name  of  the  paper  from  the  Federal  Spy 
to  the  Hampshire  Federalist.  Mr.  Dickman  continued  the  paper 
until  1819,  having  been  its  proprietor  continuously  for  some  thir- 
teen years,  a  remarkable  record  for  those  days  of  frequent 
changes  in  the  business. 

In  this  connection,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  take  a  passing  look 
into  the  files  of  these  early  papers,  and  it  may  be  suggested  that 
of  all  the  historical  treasures  of  the  country's  toA\Tis  and  cities, 
none  is  more  worthy  of  jealous  care  and  preservation  than  these 

(      420      ) 


THE  PRESS 

same  files,  giving  as  they  do,  the  only  detailed  history  of  local 
events  available,  and  whose  destruction  would  prove  a  most  seri- 
ous and  irreparable  loss.  And  it  is  a  source  of  much  pain  to  the 
sincere  historian  to  note  the  inadequate  care  given  some  of  these 
files,  none  too  numerous  at  best. 

Among  other  valuable  material  in  the  upper  room  of  the 
Chicopee  library  were  found  files  of  the  early  Springfield  papers, 
among  them,  yellowed  by  time,  with  frayed  edges,  and  faded 
print,  being  the  fruits  of  the  labor  of  editor  Dickman,  the  Hamp- 
shire Federalist.  Regarded  mechanically,  one  sees  the  evidences 
of  the  old-time  process  of  wetting  the  paper  and  the  resultant 
deep  indentation  of  the  types  into  the  sheet  when  subjected  to  the 
pressure  of  the  hand  press.  A  small,  modest  sheet  it  is,  though 
well  up  to  the  meagre  mechanical  facilities  of  its  time.  Like  its 
contemporaries,  the  country  over,  most  of  its  space  was  given  to 
heralding  events  of  foreign  fields,  by  no  means  recent ;  and  the 
"scoop"  was  no  doubt  an  unknown  term  in  the  press  parlance  of 
the  Federalist.  Local  events  were  touched  upon  occasionally. 
In  the  issue  of  Jan.  7,  1807,  appears  this : 

"Important  Item:— On  Friday  last,  the  mail  stage,  in 
attempting  to  pass  the  Connecticut  river  on  the  ice,  about 
a  mile  below  the  bridge  in  this  town,  broke  through.  As 
the  sleigh,  as  well  as  the  horses,  were  plunged  in  six  feet 
of  water,  it  may  be  considered  a  happy  circumstance  that 
there  were  but  three  passengers  in  it.  They  escaped  their 
danger  without  injury  by  jumping  on  the  ice.  Had  the 
stage  been  crowded  with  passengers,  as  is  often  the  case, 
it  would  have  been  hardly  possible  for  those  seated  in  the 
back  part  of  it  to  have  saved  their  lives.  The  horses  and 
sleigh  were  got  out  without  injury,  though  not  without 
great  difficulty  and  risk.  This  breaking  in  happened  at  a 
small  distance  from  the  spot  where  the  ice  gave  way  and 
let  in  a  cutter  about  three  weeks  ago,  by  which  accident,  a 
young  woman  was  drowned." 
The  paper  gives  an  insight  of  the  mercantile  life  of  Spring- 
field, in  the  first  decade  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Byers  & 
Bliss,  dry  goods  merchants,  give  a  list  of  the  quaintly  named  fab- 

(      421      ) 


OLE  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

rics  of  the  time— "Swanskin,  Baizes,  Serges,  Calimancoes, 
Diirants,  Bombazetts,  Shaloons,  Rose  Blankets,  Dimoties,  Cam- 
brics, etc.,  also,  Irish  Linens,  Chambray,  Crapes,  Belong,  Sattin, 
Chintzes,  and  Callicoes."  Groceries  were  also  a  pai't  of  the  mer- 
chandise, the  list  leading  off  conspicuously  with  — St.  Croix  RiTm, 
French  Brandy,  Holland  Gins,  Sherry,  Lisbon  and  Malaga 
Wines,  and  winding  up  with  the  commonplace  commodities  of 
Lump  and  Brown  Sugar,  Tea,  Coffee,  Tobacco,  Powder,  Shot, 
Codfish,  Pickled  Salmon,  4d,  8d  and  lOd  nails,  etc. 

Warriner,  Bontecou  &  Co.  advertise  Muffs  and  Tippets. 

The  publisher  of  the  Federalist,  himself  advertises  for  Cot- 
ton and  Linen  Rags  in  any  quantity,  M'hich  rags  were  in  turn 
offered  to  the  paper  dealer,  as  part  payment  for  the  stock  sup- 
plied to  the  printer. 

The  Springfield  Bookstore,  ' '  next  door  north  of  Justin  Lom- 
bard's  store,"  advertises  Books  on  Divinity,  LaAV,  Physic,  His- 
tory, Voyages,  Travels,  etc. 

Daniel  Lombard,  P.  M.,  advertises  list  of  letters  uncalled  for, 
said  list  including  many  of  the  names  of  Springfield 's  represent- 
ative families. 

The  Federalist  was  evidently  the  accepted  advertising 
medium  of  the  western  part  of  the  state,  as  in  its  columns  are 
found  the  "ads"  of  merchants  and  others  in  the  various  towns 
hereabouts. 

Farnam  &  Hastings  of  Westfield  advertise  30  barrels  of 
cider  brandy. 

The  Monson  Academy  advertises  for  pupils  from  abroad, 
stating  that  board  may  be  had  in  good  families  near  the  academy. 

Isaiah  Thomas,  Jr. 's  Almanack  for  1807  is  offered  for  sale  at 
the  office  of  the  Federalist. 

Wells  &  Bliss  advertise  Shoes. 

J.  &  H.  Dwight  advertise  Lime  per  cask  or  bushel. 

Thomas  Sargeant  advertises  AVatches,  Military  Feathers, 
Sword  Knots,  Epaulets,  Tassels,  &c. 

Justin  Ely,  West  Springfield,  offered  for  sale  Geese 
Feathers. 

(      423      ) 


THE  PRESS 

E.  Grant,  Westfield,  advertises  his  Cabinet  Making  estab- 
lishment, "100  rods  east  of  the  Meeting  House." 

Root  &  Brewster  sold  Garden  Seeds. 

A.  &  P.  Bartlett  advertise  Military  Gnns.  INIiiskets  by  the 
chest,  dozen  or  single. 

Roswell  Lombard  advertises  for  any  number  of  mink  and 
cat  skins — black,  brindle  and  gray  being  the  colors  wanted. 

Silas  Noble,  Jr.,  of  Blandford  advertises  that  he  has  repaired 
his  machines  and  is  prepared  to  do  Wool  Carding,  Oiling  and 
Picking. 

The  above  are  given  as  a  part  of  the  legitimate  history  of  the 
press  of  this  section,  for  it  shows  the  general  tone  of  the  advertis- 
ing columns,  admittedly,  at  all  times,  a  most  practical  and  impor- 
tant part  in  a  ncAvspaper's  life.  Besides  these,  there  may  be 
noted  the  calls  on  the  part  of  various  tradesmen  for  bright  lads 
to  become  indentured;  and  occasionally  a  notice  of  "One  Cent 
Reward"  or  "One  Mill  Reward"  for  the  capture  of  runaway 
apprentices,  one  being  spoken  of.  by  way  of  identity,  as,  "17 
years  old,  black  eyes,  dark  hair,  and  is  very  bold  and  saucy." 

It  appears  that  lotteries,  for  the  promotion  of  causes  of  more 
or  less  merit,  M^ere  conducted  early  in  the  century,  and  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  paper,  Thomas  Diekman,  who,  by  the  way,  con- 
ducted a  bookstore  in  connection  with  his  newspaper,  also  sold 
lottery  tickets  in  behalf  of  the  Hatfield  bridge. 

A  more  important  lottery  advertisement  was  that  of  the 
Harvard  College  Lottery,  with  20,000  tickets  at  $5.00  each,  giv- 
ing a  list  of  graduated  prizes,  from  one  of  $15,000  to  5,572  of 
$7.00  each.      A  paragraph  of  the  ad  reads: 

' '  The  managers  solicit  the  patronage  of  the  public  in  general, 
and  of  the  friends  of  literature  and  the  University  in  particular; 
and  considering  the  object  of  the  lottery,  anticipate  their  liberal 
assistance.  It  will  be  pleasant  to  reflect  that  by  adventuring  in 
this  lottery,  they  will  combine  the  prospect  of  gain  with  the  cer- 
tainty of  benefitting  the  University,  and  by  lending  their  aid  to 
the  means  of  education,  will  promote  the  best  interests  of  their 
country. ' ' 

The  Federalist  printed,  under  its  heading,  as  a  sort  of 
declaration  of  principle : 

(      423      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

"What  I  knoAv  to  be  true,  that  I  will  declare  — and  what  I 
feel  it  to  be  my  duty  to  represent,  that  I  will  have  the  boldness 
to  publish." 

In  its  typographical  make  up  this  paper  followed  the  style 
of  the  time.  Entire  pages  were  set  in  type  as  large  as  pica  ;  long 
primer  was  considered  small,  and  brevier  used  in  some  of  the  no- 
tices, and  probably  regarded  as  the  limit  of  minuteness  in  type. 
No  uniformity  was  observed  in  choice  of  type,  one  class  of  matter 
being  set  in  anj-  size  type  that  came  handy. 

Publisher  Dickman  should  not  have  suffered  from  a  lack  of 
good  "copy"  for  his  paper,  for  his  active  life  was  in  the  early 
years  of  the  nineteenth  century,  when  the  world  in  both  hemi- 
spheres was  making  history  in  abundance ;  and  to  his  credit  be  it 
said,  the  opportunities  were  not  slighted. 

Napoleon  Bonaparte,  in  the  Old  World,  was  then  exerting  his 
wonderful  power,  and  an  item  in  the  Federalist  states : 

"A  member  of  the  American  'Legislation'  at  Paris  is  arrived 
in  London  and  confirms  the  report  we  have  heard  that  Bona- 
parte demands,  peremptorily,  tliat  the  American  govenimeut 
shall  break  with  England  or  tcitJi  France.  He  leaves  no  alter- 
native." 

Another  item  of  the  period  states : 

"A  French  Paragraph :  — The  little  King  of  the  Romans  is 
cutting  a  tooth !  His  gums  are  without  inflammation,  and  the 
joy  of  the  Parisians  is  beyond  expression!!" 

In  our  own  national  affairs  thrilling  accounts  are  given  of 
the  Indian  depredations  in  the  then  wild  section,  now  knoAvn  as 
the  thickly-populated  "Middle  West." 

In  the  issue  of  June,  15,  1809,  an  editorial  states:— "The 
manner  in  which  Mr.  Madison  has  commenced  his  presidential 
career,  while  it  exhibits  one  strong  point  of  resemblance  to  the 
commencement  of  that  of  Jefferson,  may  be  contrasted  with  it 
much  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  latter." 

In  the  issue  of  June  9,  1814,  is  given  an  account  of  the  attack 
on  Oswego  and  the  invasions  and  raids  by  the  British  in  New 
York  and  along  the  Canadian  frontier. 

March  9,  1815,  the  Federalist  notes  that  the  President  will 
immediately  propose  to  Congress  to  declare  war  against  Algiers. 

(      424      ) 


THE  PRESS 

The  issue  of  March  16,  1815,  contains  the  official  report  of 
■Commodore  Decatur  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  regarding  the 
work  of  our  fleet  in  the  naval  engagements  of  the  period. 

In  1819  Mr.  Dickman  sold  his  paper  to  Frederick  A.  Pack- 
ard, a  lawyer,  and  soon  after  Mr.  Abraham  G.  Tanuatt  a  printer 
from  Boston  became  a  partner  in  the  concern,  and  the  firm  name 
was  A.  G.  Tannatt  &  Co.,  the  name  of  the  paper  being  changed 
to  the  Hampden  Federalist,  to  accommodate  the  change  of  county 
lines. 

In  1818  the  Hampden  Patriot  came  into  existence  at  the 
hands  of  Dr.  Ira  Daniels.  Politically  the  Patriot  was  opposed 
to  the  Federalist.  About  two  years  after  its  first  issue,  the 
Patriot  passed  into  the  hands  of  a  company,  with  Justice  Wil- 
lard,  Esq.,  as  editor.  In  1822  Mr.  Tannatt  left  the  Federal  office 
and  became  proprietor  of  the  Patriot,  which  was  abandoned  two 
years  later,  the  material  being  added  to  the  outfit  of  the  Federal- 
ist, and  Mr.  Tannatt  again  casting  his  lot  with  that  paper,  and 
becoming  joint  proprietor  with  Mr.  Packard. 

Available  copies  of  the  contemporary  papers,  the  Federalist 
and  the  Patriot,  show  them  to  be  identical  in  size  and  general 
make-up  save  in  style  of  heading,  the  former  having  a  most  ornate 
letter  of  the  Old  English  style  for  a  title,  while  the  Patriot's 
heading  was  set  in  a  severely  plain  black-face  Eoman. 

The  name  of  the  Federalist  was  changed  to  the  Hampden 
Journal,  as  being  a  name  more  pleasing  and  more  in  keeping  with 
the  ideas  of  the  publishers. 

On  the  first  of  January,  1829,  Mr.  Tannatt  bought  out  Mr. 
Packard,  and  continued  the  Journal  in  his  own  name  for  six 
years,  until  January  1,  1835,  when  he  relinquished  the  establish- 
ment to  Mr.  Packard. 

The  Springfield  Pepuhlican,  which  was  established  on  the 
8th  of  September,  1824  by  Samuel  Bowles,  who  came  to  Spring- 
field from  Hartford,  proved  to  be  a  very  active  competitor  of  the 
Journal,  that  outgrowth  of  a  long  line  of  worthy  journals  gone 
before,  and  eventually,  after  losing  its  hold  on  the  field  so  long 
enjoyed  the  Journal  was  bought  by  Mr.  Bowles,  and  merged  \y\\h. 
the  Republican,  the  combined  issue  being  styled  the  Repuhlican 
<tnd  Journal. 

(      425      ) 


OVB  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

The  mechanical  equipment  of  the  printing  offices  of  the 
county,  about  this  time,  began  to  be  improved.  The  inking 
roller,  that  very  simple  device,  which  alone  revolutionized  the  art 
of  printing,  and  made  machine  presses  possible,  was  introduced, 
it  is  said,  by  Mr.  BoAvles,  and  the  cumbersome  and  filthy  ink  balls, 
relics  of  the  very  days  of  Gutenberg,  the  father  of  printing,  were 
laid  aside. 

On  the  24th  of  February,  1830,  John  B.  Eldridge,  com- 
menced the  publication  of  the  Hampden  ^Vhig,  a  paper  which 
supported  the  administration  of  General  Jackson.  Five 
years    later    Mr.     Eldridge    sold     his     establishment     to     E. 


The  first  home  of  the  Springfield  Republican 

D.  Beach,  a  lawyer,  who  became  editor  as  well  as  pro- 
prietor. Some  time  after,  David  F.  Ashley,  a  printer  connected 
with  the  office,  became  a  partner,  and  the  name  of  the  paper  hav- 
ing been  changed  to  the  Hampden  Post,  the  firm  was  known  as 
D.  F.  Ashley  &  Co.,  until  July  1,  1843,  when  the  establishment 
was  purchased  by  Alanson  HaAvley. 

On  the  26th  of  May,  1841,  Apollos  Munn,  a  printer  reared  in 
the  offices  of  Springfield,  and  a  man  of  much  ability  and  activity, 
commenced  the  publication  of  the  Independent  Democrat.      The 

(      426      ) 


THE  PBESS 

paper  had  its  headquarters  on  the  Hill,  away  from  the  accepted 
center  of  pi-intino-,  about  Court  square,  but  about  two  years  later 
having'  been  sold  to  a  Dr.  Ashle.y,  the  establishment  was  moved 
down  to  Elm  street,  under  the  hospitable  shade  of  the  Court 
square  elms,  where  about  a  year  later  it  was  merged  in  the  Hamp- 
den Post. 

jNIr.  ]\Iunn,  the  founder  of  the  Independent  Democrat,  after 
an  absence  from  Springfield  of  about  two  years,  returned  and 
started  a  new  paper  which  he  called  the  Hampden  Statesman, 
which,  about  two  years  later,  Avas  merged  in  the  Hampden  Post, 
~S\y.  Munn  being  retained  as  one  of  the  staff  of  the  paper. 

In  September,  1831,  the  Springfield  Gazette  was  commenced 
by  Callender,  Kirkham  &  Briggs,  with  AVilliam  Hyde,  a  lawyer, 
as  editor.  The  Gazette  was  devoted  to  the  interests  of  education, 
missions  and  temperance,  and  not  given  to  politics.  Later  the 
Gazette  was  changed  to  a  Whig  newspaper,  and  one  year  from 
its  establishment,  by  a  change  in  the  firm,  Mr.  Briggs  and  Josiah 
Hooker,  a  lawyer,  bought  out  Callender  and  Kirkham,  and  con- 
tinued as  joint  publishers.  In  1837,  Josiah  Taylor,  a  printer, 
bought  out  Messrs.  Hooker  and  Briggs  and  became  publisher, 
three  years  later  being  succeeded  by  William  Stowe,  who  contin- 
ued as  editor  and  proprietor,  until  the  paper  was  merged  in  the 
Republican,  in  whose  bosom,  it  would  appear,  many  papers  found 
a  final  refuge  after  the  strenuous  buffeting  on  the  sea  of  journal- 
ism, guided  by  various  pilots. 

The  Hampden  Intelligencer  was  commenced  in  August,  1831, 
by  J.  B.  Clapp,  and  M^as  discontinued  after  an  existence  of  about 
a  year.      It  was  anti-Masonic  in  its  policy. 

In  January,  1842,  Mr.  Tannatt,  the  former  publisher  of  the 
Journal,  started  a  temperance  paper,  the  Hampden  Washing- 
tonian.  This  was  continued  for  six  years,  when  it  expired  for 
want  of  support.  A  reference  to  the  files  shows  the  general 
make  up  to  be  similar  to  Mr.  Tannatt 's  earlier  publications.  The 
WasJiingtonian  carried  a  fair  quantity  of  advertising,  its  moral 
tone  was  high,  and  in  every  way  reflected  credit  on  its  editor  and 
on  the  journalism  of  Springfield. 

The  good  name,  ''Hampden"  seems  to  have  borne  special 
charm  for  the  earlier  publishers    of    the    county,    and    to  use  a 

(      427      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

familiar  typographical  phrase,  was  "kept  standing"  most  of  the 
time. 

Professional  men  seem  to  have  been  attracted  to  the  field  of 
journalism  at  the  county  seat,  and  doctors,  lawyers,  school  mas- 
ters and  the  clergy  have  found  time  to  wield  the  pen  in  moulding 
thought  and  shaping  the  action  of  their  times. 

On  the  1st  of  January,  18-47,  the  Bay  State  Weekly  Courier 
was  commenced  by  Dr.  J.  G.  Holland.  The  paper  lived  for 
about  six  months,  its  editor  becoming  a  very  valuable  addition  to 
the  stall'  of  the  Ee publican. 

In  1847,  The  Springfield  Sentinel,  the  outgrowth  of  a  former 
Palmer  paper,  was  started,  it  being  both  weekly  and  semi-weekly. 
After  a  period  of  shifting  policy  and  ownership  the  Sentinel  was 
discontinued,  and  its  interests  sold  to  out-of-town  parties. 

THE  DAILY  REPUBLICAN 

The  Springfield  Daily  Republican,  the  first  daily  not  only  of 
the  city,  but  of  the  state,  outside  of  Boston,  was  started  on  the 
first  of  April,  1844,  under  discouraging  circumstances,  and  its 
first  years  of  existence  were  those  of  rowing  against  the  tide,  but 
success  came  in  time,  and  the  Republican  stands  to-day,  a  jour- 
nal world-famous  and  of  marked  prosperity.  For  the  first  year 
and  a  half  of  its  existence,  it  was  an  evening  paper,  but  was 
changed  to  a  morning  issue,  in  1845,  and  the  following  year  was 
enlarged ;  and  successive  enlargements  followed,  until  on  the  1st 
of  July,  1851,  it  attained  to  seven  columns  to  the  page. 

In  April,  1846,  a  daily  evening  paper,  the  Gazette,  was 
started,  as  a  competitor  to  the  Republican.  Two  years  later,  it 
was  absorbed  by  the  latter  paper. 

In  1850,  Samuel  Bowles,  Jr.,  became  associated  with  his 
father,  in  the  ow^nership  of  the  Republican,  which  owed  much  to 
his  faithful  work  in  the  editorial  management.  In  May,  1849, 
J.  G.  Holland  became  associate  editor  of  the  Republican,  becom- 
ing later  a  partner  in  the  establishment,  which  adopted  the  firm 
title  of  Samuel  Bowles  &  Co.  On  the  8th  of  September,  1851, 
the  elder  Bowles  died,  and  his  interests  in  the  concern  were 
largely  purchased  by  Clark  AV.  Bryan,  formerly  of  the  Great 
Barrington  Courier. 

(      428      ) 


Samuel  Bowles 


OUR  COUNTY  AXD  ITS  PEOPLE 

The  Rcpuhlican's  policy  of  thoroughly  covering  its  field, 
which  includes  Western  and  Central  New  England,  employing 
the  best  reportorial  talent,  and  editors  of  recognized  ability,  has 
resulted  in  a  large  and  well  established  circulation,  resulting  in 
a  liberal  advertising  patronage,  the  two  great  factors  much  de- 
sired and  none  the  less  necessary  to  publishers.  The  literary 
and  art  departments  are  in  charge  of  Mr.  Charles  G.  Whiting, 
while  Mr.  Solomon  B.  GriliPin  is  editor-in-chief  and  is  surrounded 
by  an  efficient  army  of  workers,  all  bending  their  best  energies 
towards  producing  a  perfect  newspaper.  Mr.  Samuel  Bowles, 
the  efficient  business  manager,  keeps  his  hand  on  the  lever,  and 
an  ever  Avatchful  eye  on  the  details  of  one  of  the  best  regulated 
and  most  systematically  conducted  newspaper  establishments  in 
New  England.  Every  department  is  run  Avith  accuracy  and 
clock-like  precision. 

In  February,  1855,  the  weekly  edition  was  enlarged,  and 
changed  to  a  quarto  form.  The  AVeekly  is  a  carefully  edited 
summary  of  the  news,  gleaned  from  the  daily  editions,  and  also 
enjoys  a  wide  circulation.  The  Republican  has,  on  two  or  three 
occasions,  in  recent  years,  in  issuing  anniversary  editions  of  the 
weekly  and  daily  forms  of  the  paper,  given  to  its  readers  well 
written  and  exhaustive  historical  sketches  of  its  career,  having  of 
course,  available  a  rich  fund  of  material  of  undoubted  authority, 
and  libera]  in  quantity.  In  these,  we  find  interwoven  the  career 
of  Springfield's  grand  self-made  man,  the  elder  Samuel  Bowles, 
founder  and  maker  of  the  Repuhlican,  with  the  story  of  his 
earlier  life  in  Connecticut,  the  incident  that  called  him  to  Spring- 
field, to  introduce  another  young  man  to  fill  a  want  in  the  news- 
paper field  there,  and  how,  unexpectedly,  the  task  fell  to  himself. 
And  from  that  day,  September  8,  1824,  when  the  first  number 
of  the  Eepuhlican  appeared,  through  all  the  succeeding  years 
to  the  present  time,  its  pages  have  recorded  fully  and  fearlessly 
the  events  of  the  city,  county,  and  of  New  England  generally,  and 
in  a  way  that  makes  its  files,  wherever  they  may  be  stored,  the 
most  complete  and  valuable  history  of  this  section  extant.  News- 
papers have  come  and  gone,  rivalry  has  developed,  attacks  have 
been,  and  are  being  made,  on  this  .journalistic  citadel  of  Hampden 

(      430      ) 


Dr.  Josiah  Gilbert  Holland 


01 R  COUNTY  AXD  ITS  PEOPLE 

county,  but  it  has  always  stood  the  attacks,  and  stands  firm,  and 
there  is  a  certain  "tone"  in  every  department  of  the  paper,  not 
to  mention  the  evident  completeness  of  its  agencies  of  production, 
that  win  for  it  the  attention  and  consideration  of  all,  and  where 
is  there  a  town  in  Western  New  England  that  does  not  have  ob- 
tainable at  its  news  stands,  the  famous  "Hampden  County 
Bible?" 

An  effort  to  establish  a  Democratic  daily  was  made  in  1856, 
when  Elon  Comstock  came  to  the  city,  and,  with  ample  backing, 
opened  a  well-equipped  office  on  Sanford  street,  and  the  Spring- 
field Daily  Argits  started,  but  through  inattention  on  the  part 
of  the  managers,  it  died  about  a  year  afterwards.  Between  the 
years  1853-72,  a  large  general  printing  business  Avas  conducted 
at  the  Republican  office.  In  1872  Mr.  Bowles  sold  out  the  gen- 
eral printing  department  to  his  partners,  Messrs.  Bryan  and 
Tapley,  and  himself  retained  the  Republican.  In  1878  the 
Repuhlican  occupied  tlie  present  quarters  at  the  corner  of  Main 
street  and  Harrison  avenue.  The  equipment  of  the  paper  is 
very  complete  for  quick  and  thorough  work,  and  no  sooner  is  a 
piece  of  machinery  perfected,  that  facilitates  the  production  of 
a  newspaper,  than  it  is  adopted  and  installed. 

Going  back  to  1846,  we  find  the  Post,  formerly  conducted 
by  Mr.  Hawley  and  sold  by  him  to  D.  F.  Ashley,  changed  to  a 
tri-weekly.  On  the  1st  of  June,  1848,  Mr.  Ashley  changed  the 
paper  from  a  tri-Aveekly  to  a  daily  with  William  L.  Smith  as 
editor.  The  Post  was  "published  every  morning  (except  Sun- 
day) in  Byers'  building,  four  doors  Avest  of  the  Post-Office,  3d 
story,  at  $3.00  per  annum,"  making  it  practically  a  penny  daily. 
Mr.  William  Trench  leased  the  office  of  the  Post  on  the  1st  of 
August,  1851,  taking  as  partner  Henry  W.  Dwight  of  Stock- 
bridge.  The  latter  retired  at  the  end  of  8  months,  and  Mr. 
Trench  relinquished  his  lease  on  the  1st  of  February,  1853.  Mr. 
Ashley  again  came  in  possession;  and  the  following  year  both  the 
daily  and  Aveekly  editions  of  the  Post  Avere  discontinued.  Mr. 
Ashley  still  lives  on  Spring  street,  a  short  distance  from  State 
street,  Springfield,  and  among  his  attic  treasures  are  the  files  of 
the  papers,  turned  out  by  him  a  half-century  ago.       There  are 

(      432      ) 


THE  PRESS 

also  galleys  of  type,  partly  reduced  to  "pi,"  and  in  a  remote 
corner  a  complete  form  of  the  neAvspaper,  with  here  and  there 
an  empty  chase  and  the  old-fashioned  wooden  quoins.  At  one 
time  these  relics  were  threatened  with  destruction  by  fire,  the 
edges  of  the  files  showing  the  signs  of  a  severe  scoi'ching,  and  it 
would  seem  that  while  the  opportunity  offers,  these  remnants  of 
Springfield's  early  daily  paper,  should  be  safely  housed  and 
treasured  for  their  historic  value. 

The  Connecticut  Valley  Farmer  was  started  in  May,  1853, 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Hampden  Agricultural  Society.  The 
paper  was  printed  and  published  by  Samuel  Bowles  &  Co.,  at  the 
Eepuhlican  office.  The  editor  was  Hon.  "William  B.  Calhoun, 
It  was  a  monthly,  at  50  cents  a  year.  January  1st,  1855,  it  was 
removed  to  Amherst,  Avhere  Prof.  Nash  became  editor  and  pub- 
lisher. 

Abraham  Tannatt,  Jr.,  a  veteran  printer,  who  with  his 
brother,  J.  F.  Tannatt,  grew  up  in  the  business,  following  in  the 
footsteps  of  their  father,  one  of  the  pioneer  printers  of  Spring- 
field, still  retains  a  small  printing  office  at  the  corner  of  Main 
and  Elm  streets,  over  the  Chicopee  bank,  occupying  the  site  of 
the  former  office  of  the  Eepublican,  on  which  paper  he  worked 
at  the  time.  Looking  out  upon  Court  Square,  and  up  busy 
Main  street,  with  its  rush  of  traffic,  and  hurrying  pedestrians, 
Mr.  Tannatt  recalls  the  same  street,  when  but  a  mere  country 
road,  bordered  with  farms,  and  many  of  the  houses  antedating 
the  K evolution. 

The  brothers  Tannatt  and  Mr.  Ashley,  already  referred  to, 
are  among  the  very  few  men  living  in  this  section  whose  mem- 
ories go  back  to  the  practical  use  of  the  crude  hand  press  and 
ink-ball  outfits.  They  have  seen  the  development  of  the  press  of 
the  city  and  county,  from  its  earliest  days,  both  in  the  editorial 
and  mechanical  sense,  with  the  wonderful  improvements  that 
competition  and  journalistic  rivalry  have  brought  about.  Con- 
trast the  newsgathering  methods  of  the  good  old  days  of  the 
Hampshire  Federalist  and  its  immediate  predecessors  and  succes- 
sors with  those  in  practice  by  the  Eepublican,  Union  and  Daily 
News.     Then  the  "news"  was  acceptable  when  three  months  old; 

28-1  (      433      ) 


01 R  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

now,  events  are  themselves  hard  pressed  by  the  active  pencil  of 
the  reporter,  and  the  electric  spark  flashes  the  news  momentarily 
to  the  editor's  desk.  Then  the  editor's  profession  was  of  the 
easy-going'  sort,  as  were  most  of  the  industries  of  the  time ;  bnt 
to-day  the  cry  is  "make  haste!"  "score  a  scoop!''  "give  lis 
young  blood!"  "away  with  the  old!"  and.  above  all.  "get  the 
news  on  the  street  first!''  In  the  Tannatt  office,  now  devoted 
solely  to  job  work,  there  are  to  be  seen  specimens  of  the  early  job 
work  of  the  city,  in  themselves  valuable,  as  showing  the  business 
life  of  the  early  days  and  in  the  form  of  programs,  etc..  showing 
the  names  of  the  social  element  of  the  time.  This  office  is  a  con- 
necting link  between  the  typographical  past  and  present,  and  as 
every  bred-in-the-bone  printer  loves  the  odor  of  printing  ink  and 
paper,  Mr.  Tannatt.  though  by  no  means  obliged  to  "stick  to  the 
ease,"  prefers  his  cosy  little  office  to  the  most  elaborate  modern 
club  house,  and  here,  among  the  friendly  leaden  dies  that  have 
voiced  many  a  message,  he  passes  the  days  congenially,  meeting 
friends  and  discussing  the  old  and  the  new.  The  grand  old  elms 
of  Court  Square  were  young  when  the  first  press  was  erected 
close  by  their  spreading  branches,  and  for  many  years  Elm  street 
and  the  vicinity  was  the  "Printing  House  Square,"  and  has  not 
yet  fully  outgrown  the  right  to  the  title,  though  the  spirit  of  the 
drama  and  the  law  and  commerce  have  usurped  the  territory  of 
the  press  very  largely. 

Mr.  Tannatt.  in  his  reminiscences  of  the  early  printere  of  the 
county,  states  that  $8.00  per  week  was  considered  exceptionally 
good  wages,  and  that  young  active  printers  Avere  glad  to  get  $4.00 
per  week.  Their  wages  w^ere  usually  well  guarded,  and  out  of 
their  modest  incomes  many  saved  considerable  sums. 

The  elder  Tannatt,  whose  work  in  connection  with  Spring- 
field journalism  occupies  such  a  prominent  place,  and  who  was  a 
contemporary  of  the  first  Samuel  Bowles,  was  highly  esteemed, 
not  only  by  those  of  his  own  craft,  but  by  the  community  gen- 
erally. AVhen  the  time  came  for  him  to  lay  aside  the  pen  and 
composing  stick  forever,  it  was  felt  that  a  good  man  had  depart- 
ed.    In  the  Springfield  Rcpuhlican  of  May  23.  1863,  we  read: 

"The  patriarch  and  father  of  Springfield  journalism  and 
printing  is  dead.     Abraham  0.  Tannatt.  our  oldest  editor  and 

(      434      ) 


THE  PRESS 

printer  closed  his  life  on  Friday,  at  the  age  of  69.  There  are 
scarcely  two  or  three  men  left  among  us  who  have  had,  for  so 
long  and  so  prominently,  a  place  in  the  social  business  and  intel- 
lectual history  and  development  of  Springfield  as  Mr.  Tannatt. 
We  count  them  upon  the  fingers,  and  it  is  like  cutting  off  a  finger, 
indeed,  to  part  with  any  one  of  them. ' ' 

Among  the  names  more  or  less  prominently  connected  with 
the  press  of  Springfield  in  the  earlier  days  may  be  mentioned : 
Babeock  &  Haswell,  Brooks  &  Russell,  Weld  &  Thomas,  James  R. 
Hutchins,  John  Worthington  Hooker,  Francis  Stebbins,  Timothy 
Ashley,  Henry  Brewer,  Thomas  Dickman,  Frederick  A.  Packard, 
A.  G.  Tannatt.  Ira  Daniels,  Justice  Willard,  Wood  &  Lyman, 
Sanuiel  Bowles,  John  B.  Eldridge,  E.  D.  Beach,  David  F.  Ashley, 
Alanson  Hawley,  Apollos  IMunn,  Elijah  Ashley,  George  W.  Cal- 
lender,  Henry  Kirkham,  Lewis  Briggs,  William  Hyde,  Josiah 
Hooker,  Josiah  Taylor,  AYilliam  Stowe,  J.  B.  Clapp,  J.  G.  Hol- 
land, George  W.  INIyrick,  Samuel  Bowles,  jr.,  Clark  W.  Bryan, 
William  Trench,  Henry  W.  Dwight,  William  B.  Brockett,  Hon. 
William  B.  Calhoun. 

THE    UNION 

The  Springfield  Union  was  founded  by  Edmund  Anthony  of 
New  Bedford,  January  4,  1864.  and  as  a  newspaper  and  expo- 
nent of  Republican  principles  it  ranks  as  one  of  the  leading  jour- 
nals of  New  England.  It  is  owned  by  a  stock  company,  under 
the  name  of  the  Springfield  Union  Publishing  company,  and  four 
editions  are  issued,  morning,  evening,  weekly  and  Sunday.  The 
Union  circulates  extensively  in  western  New  England,  where  it 
is  regarded  as  an  able,  progressive  and  interesting  journal.  Mr. 
Anthony  conducted  the  paper  until  December,  1865,  when  it 
passed  into  the  hands  of  the  Union  Printing  company.  During 
the  next  few  years  it  changed  owners  several  times,  but  in  1872, 
under  the  proprietorship  of  Lewis  H.  Taylor,  it  became  a  paying 
property.  It  was  destined,  however,  to  remain  in  Mr.  Taylor's 
hands  but  a  short  time,  for  in  1872,  the  Clark  W.  Bryan  company 
purchased  it  and  incorporated  it  with  the  firm's  printing  and 
binding  business.     William  M.  Pomeroy  was  appointed  editor. 

(      435      ) 


Clark  W.  Bryan 


THE  PKESS 

and  he  retained  that  position  until  jNIarch,  1881,  when  he  was 
succeeded  by  Joseph  L.  Shipley.  Mr.  Shipley  held  the  position 
of  editor  under  the  ownership  of  the  Springfield  Printing  com- 
pany, which  had  succeeded  the  Clark  AV.  Bryan  company  until 
May,  1882,  when  he  bought  the  property  and  transferred  it  to  a 
stock  company,  maintaining  a  majority  interest,  and  assuming 
the  responsible  management  of  the  paper. 

In  April,  1890,  the  Union  entered  upon  a  new  epoch.  It 
was  i)urchased  by  the  Springfield  Union  Publishing  company, 
and  Albert  P.  Langtry,  who  had  received  a  valuable  training  in 
the  school  of  metropolitan  journalism,  was  installed  as  business 
manager.  Soon  after  he  was  made  publisher,  with  John  D. 
Plummer  as  business  manager.  Until  1892,  the  Union  had  pub- 
lished only  an  evening  and  weekly  edition,  but  July  2  of  that 
year  a  morning  edition  was  started,  and  achieved  an  instant  suc- 
cess. It  supplied  the  popular  demand  for  a  clean,  newsy  morn- 
ing Republican  newspaper,  that  had  at  heart  the  business  and 
political  interests  of  western  New  England.  The  Sunday  Union 
was  established  in  July,  1894,  chiefly  as  a  newspaper,  and  with 
but  little  attention  paid  to  magazine  features.  Its  growth,  how- 
ever, has  been  in  keeping  with  that  of  the  other  editions  of  the 
Union,  and  it  furnishes  besides  the  news  of  the  world  and  its  own 
particular  field,  an  imposing  array  of  special  articles,  profusely 
illustrated.  The  Union  is  a  member  of  the  Associated  Press.  It 
employs  in  its  editorial  department  twenty-five  men,  and  its 
mechanical  facilities  are  surpassed,  in  point  of  equipment,  by  but 
few  newspapers. 

The  Union's  first  office  of  publication  was  located  in  the  rear 
of  the  Haynes  Hotel  block,  and  later  was  moved  to  the  corner  of 
Main  and  Taylor  streets,  in  the  building  now  known  as  the  City 
Hotel.  From  there  it  was  moved  to  the  site  of  the  present  Hotel 
Worthy,  and  later  occupied  the  building  on  the  opposite  corner, 
where,  in  1888,  occurred  the  disastrous  and  fatal  fire,  wherein 
several  of  the  employes  lost  their  lives.  After  being  repaired, 
the  building  was  occupied  for  a  time,  until  the  move  was  made 
to  the  present  quarters,  a  short  distance  down  the  street. 

Mr.  Elijah  Newell,  the  present  city  clerk  of  Springfield,  was 
on  the  staff  of  the  Union  nearly  twenty-one  years,  and  was  active 

(      437      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

in  tlie  dovelopnieiit  of  the  paper.  Among  the  more  important  of 
the  stirring  events,  during  that  time,  in  -which  Mr.  Newell  per- 
formed efficient  reportorial  work,  may  be  mentioned  the  jNIill 
River  disaster,  the  famous  Northampton  bank  robbery,  the  burn- 
ing of  the  French  Catholic  church  in  Holyoke,  and,  notably,  the 
big  fire  in  the  heart  of  Springfield's  business  district,  which  oc- 
curred in  1875,  destroying  forty-two  buildings.  Two  companies 
of  the  militia  were  called  out,  to  assist  the  police  in  guarding 
property,  and  fire  companies  came  from  many  surrounding 
places,  including  companies  from  as  far  away  as  Boston.  The 
fire  started  at  2  p.  m.  and  was  not  under  control  until  6  o'clock, 
and  in  the  meantime  the  Union  had  prepared  its  report,  illustrat- 
ed with  a  map  of  the  burned  district,  and  had  their  paper  in  the 
form  of  an  extra,  on  the  street,  at  6  o'clock. 

There  is  at  present  employed  in  the  pressroom  of  the  Union 
a  pressman  who  came  to  the  office  Avhen  the  paper  was  started  by 
the  founder,  Mr.  Edmund  Anthony. 

A  feature  of  the  Sunday  Union  is  the  liberal  and  M'ell  ar- 
ranged matter  from  the  various  towns  hereabout,  prepared  by 
several  home  correspondents.  The  illustrated  features  are  all 
that  could  be  desired,  and  are  on  a  par  Avith  those  of  the  best 
metropolitan  journals.  The  Union,  unlike  most  papers,  observes 
certain  holidays  in  the  year,  Avhen  no  issue  is  brought  out. 

THE   DAILY   NEWS 

On  February  24th,  1880,  the  public  of  Hampden  county 
heard  for  the  first  time  on  their  streets  the  cry,  '^  Penny  Neivs!" 
A  new  paper  had  entered  the  field,  Avith  its  ambitions,  aspirations 
and  promises,  and  Springfield  w^as  to  be  its  home.  For  a  few 
weeks  the  Penny  News  appeared  as  a  tri-weekly ;  but  as  it  is  a 
very  short  step  from  the  tri-weekly  to  the  daily,  the  latter  form 
was  soon  adopted,  and  on  jNIay  13th,  1880,  the  paper  came  out  as 
a  daily,  and  with  the  word  "Daily"  substituted  for  "Penny," 
though  the  price  remained  unchanged.  It  was  probably  the  first 
penny  paper  ever  published  in  the  county,  and  the  novelty  of  the 
price  won  it  a  wide  circulation.  Edward  and  Charles  J.  Bellamy 
were  the  i)ulilisliers,  both  men  of  more  than  ordinary  literary 

(      438      ) 


THE  PRESS 

ability,  and  the  foi-nier,  for  some  eight  years  previous  one  of  the 
editors  of  the  Union.  Tlie  first  few  years  of  the  Daily  News  were 
strenuous  and  the  publishers  found  that  the  life  of  a  practical 
newspaper  man  is  one  by  no  means  a  bed  of  roses.  Three  years 
after  the  birth  of  their  own  paper,  another  small  daily,  the 
Dentocrat,  came  to  tempt  fate,  and  to  solicit  slices  from  the  none 
too  ample  loaf  of  journalistic  patronage  oft'ered  by  the  field,  but 
after  two  and  a  half  years  the  Democrat  joined  the  legions  that 
have  gone  before,  and  the  Daily  Xcvs,  still  kept  up  the  race. 
Edward  Bellamy,  who  is  known  the  world  over  by  his  books  on 
socialistic  and  industrial  topics,  left  the  paper  soon  after,  and  his 
brother,  Charles  J.,  guided  its  destinies  single-handed,  but  with 
marked  ability,  and  gathering  about  him  a  staff  of  energetic  and 
intelligent  young  newspaper  workers,  put  the  paper  on  a  sound 
basis,  realizing  at  length  the  reward  of  good  management  and 
tenacity  of  purpose.  In  1894  the  publisher  realized  the  fond 
ambition  of  the  newspaper  proprietor,  and  saw  his  equipment, 
thoroughly  modern  and  of  the  best,  housed  in  a  building  bearing 
the  paper's  name,  and  the  property  of  the  concern  itself.  On 
June  26th,  1901,  the  Daily  News  issued  a  supplement,  in  book 
form,  giving  a  history  of  its  own  conception,  trials,  growth  and 
triumphs,  and  detailing  the  growth  of  the  city  and  its  interests, 
in  the  twenty-one  years  of  the  paper's  life,  and  taking  to  itself, 
with  due  modesty,  a  share  of  credit  for  the  reforms  that  have 
been  worked  in  the  city's  public  affairs,  in  the  two  decades  men- 
tioned. For  a  newspaper  is  always  a  tireless  worker  in  the  causes 
that  tend  to  the  general  good,  and  though  often  called  upon  to 
stand  the  rebuffs  and  ingi^atitude  of  opposers  and  doubters,  has  a 
reward  in  the  final  triumph  and  vindication  of  its  policy. 

THE   HOMESTEAD 

The  Springfield  Ilomesfeacl,  a  weekly  illustrated  paper  of 
local  life,  with  suburban  departments,  fills  the  graphic  needs  of 
journalism  in  the  county,  as  perhaps  no  other  publication  does. 
It  is  the  outgrowth  of  the  older-established  New  England  Home- 
stead, an  agricultural  paper  regularly  published  from  the  same 
office.     Both  the  Springfield  edition,  and  its  agricultural  progen- 

(      439      ) 


Heniv  M.   Burt 


THE  PRESS 

itor  are  ably  edited,  and  enjoy  large  circulations  and  are  influen- 
tial in  their  respective  fields.  The  New  England  Homestead  was 
founded  in  1867  as  a  monthly,  by  Henry  M.  Burt,  having  been 
started  in  Northampton,  but  soon  after  removed  to  Springfield. 
Mr.  Burt  continued  the  publication  for  some  ten  years,  in  the 
meantime  engaging  in  other  local  journalistic  ventures,  when  the 
paper  was  bought  by  Messrs.  Phelps  and  Sanderson,  former 
employes  of  the  Union,  Mr.  Sanderson's  interest  being  later 
bought  by  Mr.  Phelps,  who  established  a  corporation  known  as 
the  Phelps  Publishing  company.  Fapm  and  Home,  a  sixteen- 
page  monthly,  was  begun  in  1880,  by  this  company,  and  attained 
a  wide  circulation,  national  in  extent.  Other  powerful  agricul- 
tural journals  have  been  acquired  by  the  Phelps  Publishing  com- 
pany, including  the  Orange  Judd  Farmer  and  American  Agri- 
culturalist, which  combined  have  an  immense  circulation,  con- 
stituting a  large  portion  of  the  output  of  mail  matter  from  the 
local  post-office.  A  large  force  is  employed  in  the  mechanical  and 
circulating  departments,  and  the  office  on  Worthington  street  is 
a  veritable  hive  of  industry.  The  company  operates  its  own  job 
printing  department,  for  the  production  of  the  vast  amount  of 
forms  and  miscellaneous  small  printing,  incident  to  their  pub- 
lishing business. 

Good  Housekeeping,  a  magazine  of  domestic  science,  former- 
ly published  by  the  Clark  W.  Bryan  company,  is  also  produced 
at  the  above  office,  and  is  widely  known,  and  ranks  with  the 
country's  best  magazines.  Equipped  with  linotypes  and  rotary 
presses,  and  other  equipment  in  keeping,  the  Phelps  Publishing 
company's  plant  may  be  pointed  out  as  a  typographical  object 
lesson. 

The  Daily  Democrat  was  founded  in  1883,  to  fill  the  demand 
of  local  party  men  for  a  Democratic  paper.  Many  prominent 
Democrats  of  western  Massachusetts  were  included  among  its 
stockholders.  It  was  a  one  cent  paper,  and  very  active  in  its 
field,  but  was  discontinued  after  two  and  a  half  years. 

The  Herald  of  Life  started  in  1872,  with  Rev.  W.  N.  Pile  as 
editor.     It  was  the  organ  of  a  branch  of  the  Advent  faith. 

At  the  Evangelist  building,  on  State  street,  Springfield,  issue 
several  publications  of  a  religious  nature.     In  1879,  S.  G.  Otis 

(      441      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

started  the  Dotncstic  Jountnl,  and  made  one  of  the  most  thorough 
canvasses  ever  made  of  central  and  Avestern  Massachusetts,  start- 
ing out  with  the  avowed  intention  of  calling  at  every  house  and 
place  of  business,  securing,  as  a  result,  in  the  neighborhood  of 
23,000  subscribers  to  the  Domestic  Jouriial.  The  name  was  later 
changed  to  ^Vor<l  and  ^yorl\  and  the  publication  made  more  re- 
ligious in  tone.  The  ''Christian  AVorkers'  Union"  is  interested 
in  the  conduct  of  the  magazine. 

The  French-AmerkcDi  Citizen,  the  organ  of  the  French- 
American  college,  is  also  published  from  the  Evangelist  building, 
the  composition  being  done  by  the  students  themselves.  In  addi- 
tion, many  miscellaneous  tracts  are  produced,  and  the  establish- 
ment may  justly  be  termed  the  religious  press  of  Hampden 
county. 

THE  PRESS  OF  WESTFIELD 

For  tAvo  centuries,  Westfield,  whose  venturesome  pioneers 
had  pushed  the  Bay  Path  westward  to  the  Woronoco  Valley,  was 
without  a  local  newspaper,  and  the  earliest  one  recorded  is  the 
Hampden  Register,  Avhich  received  its  first  impression  on  the  18th 
of  February,  18'24,  published  by  INIajor  Joseph  Root.  It  con- 
tained five  columns  to  the  page,  as  appears  to  have  been  the  usual 
limitations  of  the  papers  of  that  period.  It  was  Republican  in 
politics.  Two  years  later  Dr.  Job  Clark  became  editor.  Major 
Root  still  retaining  a  ])lace  in  the  establishment.  About  a  year 
later  the  paper  passed  into  the  hands  of  V.  W.  Smith  and  John 
B.  Eldridge.  A  change  of  policy  and  editorial  tone  Avorked  to 
the  detriment  of  the  sheet,  Avhich  Avas  followed  by  several  changes 
in  ownership  and  management,  until  XoA'ember  29th,  1831,  Avhen 
it  Avas  discontinued. 

The  earlier  printing  offices  of  Westfield  Avere  located  on  the 
"Green,"  the  center  of  the  town's  business  activities.  The 
editors  looked  from  the  windoAvs  of  their  sanctums  out  upon  the 
public  square,  Avith  its  symbols  of  country  village  life — the  tOAvn 
pump,  the  public  hay  scales,  the  flag-staff,  and  the  passing  to  and 
fro  of  the  modest  local  and  suburban  traffic.  The  initiation  of 
the  office  "devil"  included  the  task  of  carrying  buckets  of  Avater, 

(      442      ) 


TEE  PEESS 

siinmier  and  winter,  from  the  town  pnnip  and  bearing  the  modest 
edition  on  pnblieation  day  to  the  post-office.  The  files  of  the  old 
papers,  somewhat  incomplete,  are  stored  in  the  Atheneum,  musty 
records  of  the  youth  of  the  19th  century.  Their  politics  were 
expressed  in  no  uncertain  tones;  their  essays  and  articles  on 
morals,  agriculture,  etc.,  elaborate  and  long  drawn  out;  their 
foreign  news  given  large  space,  while  local  atfaire  were  almost 
totally  ignored.  Later,  when  the  building  of  the  canal  through 
the  town  was  commenced,  and  the  railroads  penetrated  into  the 
town,  the  editors  were  awakened  from  their  lethargy  and  "local" 
news  actually  forced  itself  upon  them,  and  was  not  to  be  ignored. 
Human  nature  and  its  traits  showed  itself,  in  the  way  of  more  or 
less  scathing  arraignments  of  one  editor  and  his  policy,  by  the 
scribe  of  his  "esteemed  contemporary,"  and  many  are  the  ac- 
knowledgments of  benefits  in  the  way  of  floral,  fruity,  or  more 
substantial  favors,  laid  on  the  editorial  table  by  friends  of  the 
office. 

Glancing  through  a  copy  of  volume  1,  No.  1,  of  Westfield's 
first  paper,  the  Hampden  Register,  issued  Wednesday  evening, 
February  18,  1824,  we  find  the  folloAving  "Prospectus,"  in  which 
the  editor  expresses  his  intention  to  adhere  to  Republican  prin- 
ciples, and  that  his  paper  "shall  never  become  a  vehicle  for  the 
propagation  of  slander,  nor  an  instrument  to  gratify  personal 
revenge — the  period  of  foul  recrimination  and  party  animosity  is 
past,  and  it  is  believed  the  time  has  already  arrived  when  a  paper 
may  be  conducted  on  principles  purely  national,  devoted  exclu- 
sively to  the  interests  of  the  people  and  not  to  that  of  party." 
Then  follows  an  article  on  the  "North  American  Indians,"  with 
others  under  the  heading  "Moral  and  Religious,"  then  a  couple 
of  columns  of  "Miscellany,"  which  complete  the  first  page.  The 
two  inside  pages  are  taken  up  with  news  from  more  or  less  remote 
parts  of  the  world,  the  doings  of  congress,  the  militia,  etc.  The 
modest  array  of  advertising  includes  :  "William  King,  jr..  &  Co. 
Fur  Caps ;  C.  &  C.  Cobb,  Shoe  Store :  Robert  Whitney,  Flour, 
Salt,  etc.,"  a  few  local  real  estate  advertisements,  and  a  small 
number  of  advertisements  of  Springfield  concerns.  The  fourth 
page  has  a  half  column  of  poetry,  a  story  of  western  adventures, 

(       443      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

and  an  essay  on  "Matrimony,"  besides  short  paragraphs  on 
morals,  thrift,  and  general  good  conduct.  In  the  salutatory  edi- 
torial, Mr.  Root  says,  "To  the  Public :  We,  this  day,  present  our 
patrons  with  the  first  number  of  the  Register.  The  establishment 
of  a  new  paper  is  an  event  of  so  much  importance  that  it  usually 
excites  some  degree  of  interest,  and  the  public  are  desirous  of 
knowing  by  what  principles  it  is  to  be  governed.  Pub- 
lic opinion  is  the  basis  upon  which  our  government  is 
supported,  and  this  opinion  is  very  materially  affected 
by  periodical  publications,  which  are  numerous  in  every 
part  of  our  country.  In  1720,  there  was  but  one  news- 
paper published  in  the  United  States ;  in  1777,  there  were  25,  and 
now,  there  are  between  500  and  600.  ...  In  our  country, 
all  power  being  derived  from  the  ivlwle  people,  it  is  of  the 
utmost  importance  that  the  source  from  which  it  flows  should  be 
enlightened  and  pure.  .  .  Our  columns  shall  not  be  polluted 
with  the  foul  breath  of  personal  pique  and  private  and  personal 
slander,  but  while  these  are  excluded,  we  shall  cheerfully  give 
place  to  all  information  and  temperate  discussion  upon  the  official 
conduct  and  political  opinions,  and  shall  earnestly  endeavor,  as 
w^e  may  deem  it  to  be  our  duty,  to  expose  and  if  possible,  check, 
every  deviation  from  the  path  of  political  rectitude. ' '  The  above 
description  of  the  initial  number  of  the  Register  is  given  as  a  syn- 
opsis of  the  journalistic  style  of  the  time.  In  1826,  the  name  of 
J.  Clark  appears  as  editor.  An  important  theme  of  discussion 
was  the  slave  trade,  and  frequent  reference  to  the  same  is  found 
in  the  files  of  the  paper.  The  issue  of  the  Register  dated  April 
2,  1828,  appeared  with  the  name  of  John  B.  Eldridge  as  editor. 
The  general  character  of  the  paper  continued  the  same,  the  doings 
of  town  and  county  being  heralded  in  the  easy-going  way,  with 
the  advertisements  varied  by  notices  of  canal  directors,  stray 
cattle,  runaway  apprentices.  Academy  notices,  etc.  Over  the 
heading  of  "Marriages"  was  printed  a  crude  wood-cut  of  a  heart, 
pierced  by  a  shaft,  presumably  from  Cupid's  bow. 

With  the  issue  of  December  10,  1828,  the  Hampden  Register, 
having  been  re-christened  the  West  field  Register,\vith.  a  new  man, 
J.  D.  Huntington,  as  editor,  this  motto  was  added  to  its  heading, 

(      444      ) 


THE  PRESS 

"Let  all  the  ends  thou  aim'st  at  be  thy  country's,  thy  God's,  and 
truth, ' '  the  paper  keeping  on  in  the  even  tenor  of  its  way,  with  a 
slight  variation  of  editorial  style.  A  book  store  was  conducted 
by  the  early  publishers  of  AYestfield,  in  connection  with  their 
printing  business,  and  school  books,  novels  and  stationery  were 
advertised. 

Thursday  evening,  September  10,  1833,  appeared  number  1 
of  volume  1  of  the  ^yestfi€ld  Journal,  edited  by  Joseph  Bull,  jr. 
The  JournaVs  predecessors  had  been  published  on  Wednesdays, 
while  Mr.  Bull  saw  fit  to  go  to  press  one  day  earlier  in  the  week. 
The  office  of  publication  was  in  the  Ives  block,  corner  of  Main 
and  Broad  streets,  on  "the  Green,"  and  the  building  was  then, 
undoubtedly,  Westfield's  most  imposing  business  structure,  and 
to-day  makes  no  mean  appearance  on  the  square.  In  his  saluta- 
tory. Editor  Bull  says  :  ' '  To  the  Public  :  Why  not  a  news- 
paper in  Westfield?  Why  may  we  not  mingle  our  thoughts 
and  interchange  our  sentiments  with  the  wordy  throng  who  write, 
and  print,  and  publish,  the  things  which  are,  or  which  may  be,  as 
inspiration  or  fancy  dictates  ?  We  are  not  aware  of  any  abridg- 
ment of  freedom,  or  any  power  of  restraint,  which  should  seal  our 
lips,  or  palsy  our  hands,  while  we  have  a  cause  to  present  to  a 
sovereign  people.  In  truth,  we  think  it  would  be  no  great  obtru- 
sion if  we  should  presume  to  take  our  stand  in  the  field,  and  we 
offer  to  bear  some  small  part  in  the  labors,  the  sacrifices,  the 
honors  (and  if  we  may  indulge  in  the  humble  hope),  the  emolu- 
ments of  the  press."  The  style  of  the  typography  of  the  Journal 
evidences  the  use  of  the  same  material  employed  on  the  preceding 
Westfield  newspapers. 

Following  the  March  24,  1835,  issue  of  the  Westfield  Journal 
came  the  March  31,  1835,  issue  of  the  Democratic  Herald,  still 
printed  by  Mr.  Bull,  but  bearing  the  name  of  N.  T.  Leonard  as 
proprietor,  and  N.  T.  Leonard  and  E.  Davis,  editors.  Temper- 
ance seems  to  have  been  a  favorite  theme  with  the  Herald,  and  the 
subject  is  given  liberal  space  in  its  succeeding  issues.  About  a 
year  later,  the  paper  was  discontinued. 

On  the  9th  of  April,  1836,  The  Talisman  made  its  appear- 
ance.    It  was  edited  by  H.  B.  Smith,  Avho  had  served  as  an  ap- 

(      445      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

prentice  in  the  printer's  art,  and  who  was  destined  to  become  a 
leading  figure  in  the  industrial  and  social  life  of  Westfield.  The 
Talisman,  owing  to  a  change  of  plans,  was  discontinued  at  the 
end  of  three  months. 

In  April,  1839,  Calvin  Torrey  started  the  Democratic  news- 
paper called  the  Wcsfficld  Spectator.  In  October,  1841,  Dr. 
William  0.  Bell  bought  the  paper,  and  shortly  after  changed  its 
name  to  the  Woronoco  Palladwm,  continuing  its  publication  for 
about  two  years,  when  the  original  owner,  Mr.  Torrey,  again 
assumed  control,  reviving  the  original  name  of  '^Spectator." 
About  a  year  later  this  paper  died. 

The  late  Emerson  Davis,  so  long  connected  Avith  the  town's 
educational  and  religious  Avork,  published  the  ScJiolar's  Journal 
for  two  years,  in  1828  and  1829,  during  his  principalship  of  the 
Academy. 

Westfield 's  famous  old  Academy,  whose  graduates  have  gone 
forth  over  the  world,  to  reflect  honor  upon  themselves  and  their 
alma  mater,  was  the  center  of  publication,  at  different  times,  of 
various  papers  of  a  literary  and  patriotic  tone ;  and  the  publish- 
ing impulse  lives  to  this  day  among  the  stiidents ;  and  none  will 
say  it  is  not  a  most  helpful  and  worthy  addition  to  the  routine  of 
regular  school  work. 

In  October,  1845.  the  Westfield  Standard  was  started  by 
Hiram  A.  Beebe.  At  the  end  of  two  years,  it  was  discontinued, 
and  after  a  short  interval,  was  revived  by  J.  D.  Bates,  who  Avas 
succeeded  by  William  W.  Whitman.  Joseph  M.  Ely  soon  after 
purchased  the  establishment,  and  continued  the  paper  for  some 
three  years,  having  as  editorial  associates  Asahel  Bush  and  Henry 
C.  Moseley.  In  January,  1852,  Gilbert  W.  Cobb  bought  the 
Standard,  Avhich  lived  until  xVugust.  1854,  and  on  the  7th  of 
October  of  the  same  year,  the  Wide  Aicake  American  Avas  started. 
to  further  certain  political  interests ;  and  like  the  other  branches 
of  the  journalistic  family  tree,  soon  decayed  and  fell  to  earth. 

Henry  C.  INIoseley.  in  taking  editorial  charge  of  the  Stand- 
ard, the  office  of  publication  being  in  Hull's  building,  east  side  of 
the  Green,  says:  "Very  often  since  the  establishment  of  this 
paper,  has  a  noAv  spirit  been  called  to  control  its  destinies,  and  so 

(      446      ) 


Phineas  L.  Buell 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

often  has  a  long  Prospectus  been  issued,  accompanied  by  prom- 
ises and  pledges,  too  often  unfulfilled  and  unredeemed.  We 
deem  it  unnecessary  to  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  our  illustrious 
predecessors,  but  as  we  make  our  editorial  bow  to  the  patrons  of 
the  Standard,  we  woiild  assure  them  that  so  long  as  its  columns 
are  under  our  control,  they  will  be  devoted  to  the  advancement  of 
the  great  and  glorious  principles  of  Democracy."  The  same  lack 
of  local  news  characterizes  the  Standard. 

Meantime,  in  February,  1841,  the  ^Vest-field  Neivs  Letter  had 
been  established  by  Elijah  Porter,  The  paper  was  Whig  in 
politics,  and  its  editor  is  well  remembered  by  many  still  living,, 
as  a  man  having  firm  convictions  and  certain  peculiarities,  with  a 
goodly  allowance  of  the  self-confidence  and  faith  that  are  indeed 
important  factors  to  success  in  any  enterprise,  Mr.  Porter  was 
assisted  in  his  work,  for  some  time,  in  the  late  40 's  by  a  bright 
young  journalist,  Samuel  H.  Davis,  son  of  Dr.  Davis,  who  later 
took  a  position  on  the  Springfield  Repiihlican.  In  1851,  P.  L. 
Buell  became  a  partner  with  ]\Ir.  Porter,  and  the  following  year, 
A,  T,  Dewey,  was  admitted  to  the  firm,  remaining  about  twa 
years,  when  he  left  the  concern.  Mr.  Buell,  who  was  an  able 
phrenologist  as  well  as  a  literary  man,  in  more  recent  years  was 
librarian  at  the  AYestfield  Atheneum,  and  is  pleasantly  remem- 
bered by  the  patrons  of  that  institution,  Mr.  Porter  went  West, 
and  engaged  in  newspaper  work  there,  and  the  News-Tjetter  con- 
tinued under  varying  management  until  merged  with  the  Times 
in  1873. 

The  initial  issue  of  the  West  field  Neivs-Letter  and  Farmers^ 
and  Mechanics'  Journed  bore  at  the  head  of  its  editorial  column  a 
banner  on  which  was  inscribed  "Harrison  and  Better  Times," 
and  President  Harrison's  inaugural  address  was  printed  in  full, 
in  that  issue.  An  item  also  states  ' '  Our  paper  is  furnished  from 
the  mill  of  Cyrus  W.  Field  &  Co,  of  this  town,"  which  recalls  the 
interesting  fact  that  the  enterprising  Cyrus,  destined  to  become 
world-famous  and  wealthy,  was  at  that  time  a  part  of  the  local 
industrial  life.  Another  item  refers  to  a  revival  at  "Hooppole," 
in  the  western  part  of  the  town,  the  district  destined  later  to  be 
known  as  "AYest  Parish,"  and  eventually  to  bear  its  present  more 

(      448      ) 


THE  PRESS 

romantic  appellation  of  "Mnndale."     A  department  is  devoted 
to  "Prices  of  Farmers'  Produce,"  and  the  cattle  market. 

The  business  life  of  ^Yestfield  in  the  year  1841  is  indicated  by 
the  Neivs  Letter's  ads.,  which  bear  the  names  of  Samuel  C.  Smith, 
dry  goods,  crockery,  shoes,  etc.,  east  side  of  the  Green ;  Jere 
Hitchcock,  boots  and  shoes,  third  door  east  of  the  post-office ;  John 
F.  Comstock,  fashionable  hair  dresser,  J.  Taylor's  building;  Rand 
&  Johnson, wrapping  paper;  Misses  Parsons  &  Parker,  dressmak- 
ers, north  side  of  the  Green ;  A.  G.  Chadwiek  &  Co.,  diy  goods, 
wagons,  soda  biscuit,  flour,  fall  and  winter  oil,  etc. ;  Joseph  Sib- 
ley, gaiter  boots  and  slips;  Samuel  B.  Rice  &  Co.'s  store  on  the 
bank  of  the  canal,  Avholesale  produce,  groceries,  etc.;  John  H. 
Starr,  jr..  tailor,  Jessup's  building,  west  of  the  Park;  William 
Hooker,  jr.,  flour;  Lyman  Lewis,  hardware:  and  H.  B.  Smith, 
who  kept  a  general  store  on  the  north  side  of  the  Green,  and  who 
throughout  a  long  life,  was  closely  identified  with  the  town's 
business  interests,  was  also  an  advertiser  in  the  first  issue  of  the 
Neics-Letter.  As  indicating  the  trend  of  local  life  in  the  early 
40 's,  a  few  extracts  are  made  from  the  first  year's  issues  of  the 
Neics-Lctter,  whose  files  unfold  to  the  reader  the  typical  village 
journalism  of  sixty  years  ago.  These  refer  to  the  New  Haven 
and  Northampton  canal  Avhich  "offers  great  facilities  for  trans- 
portation of  passengers,  goods,  etc.;"  "wood  and  farmers'  pro- 
duce wanted  at  the  office  of  the  editor;"  notice  of  the  death  of 
President  Harrison,  on  which  occasion  the  News-Letter  appeared 
in  the  conventional  mourning  garb  of  inverted  column  rules,  bold 
and  black.  Under  a  bold  heading  ' '  Postscript, ' '  the  paper  prints 
the  very  indefinite  but  important  item,  "By  a  passenger  from 
AYorcester,  who  left  this  morning,  we  learn  that  it  was  reported 
that  a  messenger  from  AA'^ashington  passed  through  Worcester, 
Monday  night,  with  a  message  or  an  address  from  the  President 
of  the  United  States."  The  above  was,  no  doubt,  considered  at 
the  time  as  important  as  is  the  most  consequential  Associated 
Press  dispatch  of  to-day.  At  least,  one  cannot  but  commend  the 
enterprise  of  the  editor  in  making  the  most  of  the  matter.  Fre- 
quent "canal"  notices  appear,  mth  the  antiquated  cut  of  a  canal 
boat  drawn  by  a  couple  of  horses,  the  arrival  and  departure  of 

29-1  (      449      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

boats  being  noted,  etc.,  etc.  The  canal,  the  then  important  water- 
way that  put  Westfield  in  touch  with  the  country's  metropolis 
and  the  world  generally,  furnished  much  in  the  way  of  news  for 
the  Neivs-Letter,  viz.,  items  from  up  and  down  the  country,  inci- 
dents and  accidents  connected  with  boating  life,  and  occasionally 
a  reference  to  the  disreputable  brothels  and  "taverns"  in  the 
towns  along  the  course  of  the  canal,  to  which  Westfield  was  no 
exception.  The  records  of  the  Court  of  Common  pleas  in  town 
showed  that  the  people  of  old  "Westfield  were  but  mortal,  and  the 
sentences  imposed  j) roved  that  "the  way  of  the  transgressor  is 
hard."  And  so,  on  through  the  succeeding  years,  Elijah  Porter 
put  the  Woronoco  Valley's  life  in  type,  with  the  motto,  under  the 
paper's  heading,  "I  come,  the  Herald  of  a  noisy  world — News 
from  all  Nations  lumbering  at  my  back. ' '  And  here  and  there  may 
be  found  spicy  hits  at  his  contemporaries,  reprimands  of  local 
misdemeanors,  suggestions  for  local  public  improvements,  and 
the  like.  The  editor  and  publisher  of  a  country  paper  was  not 
above  receiving  the  prosaic  firewood  and  farm  produce,  in  ex- 
change for  subscriptions,  and  periodical  calls  for  the  same  are 
printed  in  the  columns  of  Mr.  Porter's  paper.  And  the  historian 
of  to-day,  who  seeks  material,  may  well  turn  to  these  files,  a  half- 
century  old,  where  will  be  found  long  and  most  interesting  arti- 
cles by  the  then  "oldest  inhabitants,"  under  the  heading  of 
'' Sketches  of  Westfield." 

With  the  issue  of  August  19,  1871,  the  N civs-Letter  was  en- 
larged. It  w^as  then  published  by  P.  L.  Buell,  and  from  a  town 
of  something  like  4,000  inhabitants,  when  the  paper  was  started, 
the  population  had  grown  to  about  6,000,  or  one-half  its  present 
population  and  the  news  field  was  considerably  broadened  in  con- 
sequence. The  paper's  motto  had  been  changed  to  "Independent 
in  all  things,  neutral  in  nothing."  The  growth  of  the  business 
interests  of  the  town  is  well  indicated  by  the  liberal  advertising 
patronage.  With  the  issue  of  December  23,  1871,  the  Neivs- 
Letter  passed  from  the  hands  of  Mr.  Buell  to  the  ownership  of 
Sherman  Adams,  who  had  seen  his  apprenticeship  days  on  the 
same  paper,  some  twenty  years  previous.  The  editorial  column 
of  that  issue  contains  the  valedictory  address  of  the  former,  and 

(      450      ) 


THE  FEESS 

the  salutatory  address  of  the  latter,  and  the  motto  under  the 
paper's  heading  was  changed  to  "For  the  people,  with  the  people, 
and  of  the  people."  Advertising  and  local  items  took  a  boom, 
and  the  need  of  more  space  led  to  the  frequent  issuing  of  a  sup- 
plement, and  with  the  issue  of  August  23,  1872,  the  paper  was 
enlarged. 

The  Western  Haiupden  Times  was  established  in  March, 
1869,  and  the  News-Letter  found  itself  with  a  rival.  The  Times 
was  published  by  Clark  &  Carpenter,  in  jNIo rand's  block.  Elm 
street,  and  was  in  general  make-up  similar  to  the  News-Letter, 
and  between  the  two  papers,  the  local  news  field  was  more  than 
ever  closely  culled,  and  a  friendly  editorial  "spat"  enlivened 
matters  occasionally.  With  the  issue  of  April  6,  1870,  the  Times 
passed  into  the  hands  of  a  new  firm,  Clark  &  Story,  Mr.  C.  C. 
Story  having  bought  an  interest  in  the  concern,  and  assuming  the 
business  management. 

With  the  issue  of  Wednesday  afternoon,  July  8,  1874,  the 
two  papers  appeared  as  one,  having  been  consolidated  under  the 
name  of  the  Western  Hampden  Times  and  West  field  News-Letter, 
with  Clark  &  Story  as  publishers,  the  Times  absorbing  the  News- 
Letter,  job  department  and  all. 

In  August,  1875,  Sherman  Adams  started  the  Woronoco 
Advertiser,  a  small  paper  of  four  pages,  each  6x9  inches  in  size, 
with  two  columns  to  the  page.  The  paper  was  printed  on  a 
Globe  job  press,  with  a  very  modest  mechanical  equipment,  all 
contained  in  the  front  room  of  the  editor's  home,  where,  with  the 
assistance  of  the  members  of  his  numerous  family,  it  was  issued 
weekly.  In  a  few  months,  the  paper  was  doubled  in  size,  and  the 
name  changed  to  the  Westfield  Advertiser,  and  after  a  more  or 
less  struggling  existence  of  a  few  years,  expired.  Mr.  Adams  re- 
moved to  Florida,  where  he  died. 

W^estfield,  in  the  year  1871,  was  passing  from  the  village  to 
town  improvements,  and  one  of  the  great  accomplishments  of  the 
year  was  the  bringing  into  use  of  the  town's  gravity  system  of 
water  supply  from  Montgomery.  The  old-time  custom  of  ringing 
all  the  bells  in  town,  in  case  of  fire,  and  creating  virtually  a  panic, 
by  the  general  uproar,  was  drawing  the  attention  of  the  people 

(      451      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AXD  ITS  PEOPLE 

to  the  desirabilit}^  of  a  fire  alarm  system,  and  correspondents  dis- 
cussed the  matter  in  various  issues  of  the  paper,  though  it  was 
many  years  before  the  system  materialized. 

In  the  issue  of  October  14,  1871,  an  account  was  given  of  the 
great  Chicago  fire,  the  great  news  event  of  that  year,  Westfield, 
in  those  daj's,  was  more  or  less  lax  in  some  ways,  and  certain 
forms  of  mischief,  now  effectually  kept  in  check,  seem  to  have 
prevailed  unhampered,  the  town  having  very  slight  police  protec- 
tion. The  east  side  of  Park  Square  was,  in  the  early  70 's,  still 
honored  by  the  name  of  "Rum  Row,"  a  name  which  had  been 
applied  to  it  in  the  many  years  of  the  sale  of  spirituous  liquors. 
The  frequent  raids  of  the  state  constables  into  the  town,  in  their 
quest  of  liquor  illegally  sold,  were  great  exciting  events  of  that 
period,  as  many  will  remember.  The  issue  of  July  6,  1872,  notes 
the  good  work  being  done  by  the  Westfield  "Town  Improvement 
Association,"  wherein  mention  is  made  of  the  new  "Boulevard" 
just  opened,  now  known  as  Western  avenue.  November  15,  1872, 
is  noted  the  first  edition  of  the  AA^estfield  Directory,  then  in  press. 
The  murder  of  Charles  D.  Sackett  by  Albert  H.  Smith,  for  which 
the  latter  was  condemned  and  executed,  was  a  matter  of  intense 
local  interest  in  the  early  70  's.  The  Normal  boarding-house  was 
an  important  addition  to  the  buildings  of  the  town  at  that  time. 
The  "hard  times"  of  1873  furnish  the  theme  for  many  an  item 
for  that  year.  Money  was  scarce,  and  the  newspaper  men  felt 
the  effect  along  with  the  rest. 

In  the  issue  of  the  ^yestern  Hampden  Times  and  Westfield 
Neivs  Letter,  announcing  the  consolidation  of  the  two  papers,  we 
find  these  words,  "We  cherish  no  feelings  of  exultation  that  a 
rival  has  fallen.  It  has  simply  been  a  graceful  yielding  to  fate." 
From  that  time  on— July  8,  1874— for  several  years,  the  Times, 
as  the  combined  papers  came  to  be  known  for  convenience,  filled 
the  local  field  alone,  not  only  covering  it  thoroughly,  but  also 
devoting  ample  space  to  the  outlying  towns  of  Southwick,  Gran- 
ville, Tolland,  Russell,  Blandford,  Montgomery,  Granby,  etc., 
where  live  correspondents  have  worked  for  the  proper  representa- 
tion of  their  respective  localities.  Editor  Clark  now  looks  back 
over  nearly  a  half  century's  service  with  the  press  of  this  section, 

(      452      ) 


THE  PRESS 

and  his  work  is  a  record  of  the  development  of  the  interests  of  the 
field,  grown  from  small  beginnings  to  recognized  importance. 

The  ^yestfield  Times  and  Neivs-Letter  has  been  published  for 
many  years  at  No.  11  School  street,  its  offices  being  located  in  the 
second  and  third  stories  of  the  Colton  building.  In  December, 
1897,  the  firm  name  was  changed,  a  corporation  being  formed 
under  the  name  of  the  Clark  &  Story  company.  On  account  of 
the  death,  October  25,  1901,  of  Mr.  Story,  who  for  thirty  years 
had  had  the  business  and  mechanical  management  of  the  paper, 
the  company  was  reorganized,  with  L.  N.  Clark  president  and 
editor-in-chief.  L.  N.  Clark,  jr..  clerk,  treasurer  and  business 
manager,  and  Joseph  C.  Duport,  manager  of  the  mechanical  de- 
partment and  associate  editor.  The  senior  Mr.  Clark  commenced 
his  newspaper  career  in  the  office  of  the  Gazette  and  Courier  at 
Greenfield,  fifty  years  ago.  when  that  paper  was  published  by 
Phelps  &  Eastman.  He  has  since  served  on  the  Hampshire  Ga- 
zette, the  Springfield  Union,  of  which  he  was  the  first  local  editor, 
and  the  Berkshire  County  Eagle,  coming  from  Pittsfield  to  West- 
field,  January  1,  1869,  to  start  the  Western  Hampden  Times, 
afterwards  consolidated  with  the  Neivs-Letter.  The  Times  and 
News  Letter,  the  oracle  of  the  Woronoco  Valley,  which  has  long 
been  an  important  factor  in  moulding  public  opinion  in  the  com- 
munity, and  numbers  in  its  constituency  people  in  nearly  every 
state  of  the  Union,  starts  auspiciously  under  its  present  manage- 
ment, and  is  going  on  from  prospering  to  prosper. 

The  Valley  Echo,  established  at  Huntington  in  February, 
1885,  was  the  first  newspaper  that  had  been  published  between 
Westfield  and  Pittsfield.  It  was  started  by  two  Holyoke  men, 
V.  J.  Irwin  and  W.  H.  AVay,  who  conceived  the  idea  that  a  live 
local  paper,  free  from  partisan  or  private  obligations,  might  be 
made  to  pay  in  the  Westfield  river  valley.  The  first  issue  was 
heartily  received,  and  the  subsequent  growth  was  very  marked. 
Not  long  after,  increasing  business  made  advisable  the  starting  of 
a  separate  edition  at  Chester,  which  likewise  flourished.  Early 
in  1886,  an  edition  was  started  for  Westfield,  and  was  called  The 
Valley  Echo,  while  to  the  other  two  editions  respectively  were 
given  the  names  of  the  Huntington   Herald  and   The   Chester 

(      453      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

Chronicle.  AYhen  first  actually  located  in  AVestfield,  in  the  fall 
of  1887,  the  Valley  Echo  had  quarters  in  the  Spencer  building, 
corner  of  Elm  street  and  Crary  avenue.  Here  it  remained  until 
1889,  when  the  first  floor  in  the  Atkins  block  on  Elm  street  was 
leased  and  there  the  paper  has  since  been  published.  Sometime 
later,  the  basement  was  utilized,  and  during  the  past  year,  the 
second  floor  of  the  block  has  been  added,  so  that  the  concern  now 
has  three  floors.  When  first  organized,  it  was  known  as  "the 
W.  H.  Way  &  Co.,"  and  later  as  "The  Home  Newspaper  Co.," 
but  in  1889  it  was  incorporated  at  $10,000,  and  with  a  Massachu- 
setts charter,  became  known  as  "the  Home  Newspaper  Publishing 
Co."  It  still  continues  its  Huntington  and  Chester  editions 
under  their  respective  names.  The  plant  is  now  equipped  with 
ample  room  and  power,  and  supplied  with  up-to-date  jobbing 
material  and  facilities.  The  corporation  is  at  present  organized 
as  follows  :  President,  Charles  M.  Gardner ;  secretary  and  treas- 
urer, James  H.  Dickinson ;  directors,  C.  M.  Gardner,  James  H. 
Dickinson,  James  A.  Dakin.  The  policy  of  the  paper  cannot  be 
better  expressed  than  in  the  motto  that  appears  at  the  head  of 
the  editorial  column,  "  It  is  the  people 's  paper,  and  is  not  run  in 
the  interests  of  any  particular  class  or  party.  Independent  and 
honest,  it  aims  to  serve  in  the  best  way  the  greatest  number. ' ' 

Aside  from  the  purely  local  newspapers  that  have  cultivated 
the  news  field  of  the  Woronoco  valley,  those  of  Springfield  have, 
for  many  years  been  represented  by  local  reporters,  among  whom 
may  be  mentioned  J.  D.  Cadle,  Avhose  work  for  the  Republican, 
and  later  for  the  Union,  has  made  him  a  recognized  factor  in 
newspaperdom,  and  Edward  G.  Clark  (eldest  son  of  L.  N.  Clark), 
who  has  been  for  more  than  a  decade  the  daily  Bepnblican's  cor- 
respondent in  W^estfield.  The  large  circulation  of  Springfield's 
dalies  in  Westfield  has  been  the  means  of  deferring  the  publica- 
tion of  a  local  daily.  A  movement  was  made  some  years  ago  in 
that  direction,  but  the  attempt  was  soon  abandoned. 


(     454     ) 


THE  PRESS 

THE  PRESS  OF  HOLYOKE 

The  Hampden  Freeman's  first  number  gives  these  facts  in 
its  caption :  The  Hampden  Freeman,  a  family  newspaper,  pub- 
lished every  Saturda^^  at  Ireland  Depot  (West  Springfield),  by 
William  L.  Morgan  &  Co. ;  office  on  Maple  street,  opposite  the 
school  house ;  one  dollar  per  annum.  The  motto  of  the  paper  was 
"Where  Liberty  dwells,  there  is  my  Country,"  and  a  coat  of 
arms,  worked  into  the  heading,  bore  the  words,  "Constitution, 
Truth,  Independence,  People's  Rights. ' '  The  second  issue  of  the 
paper  contains  an  article  on  "Our  New  City,"  which  speaks  thus 
hopefully  of  Holyoke's  prospects:  "This  infant  giant  of  west- 
ern INIassachusetts,  destined  to  eclipse  Lowell  and  other  manufac- 
turing places  in  this  country,  is  situated  upon  the  right  bank  of 
the  Connecticut  river,  about  eight  miles  from  Springfield. ' '  Then 
follows  a  detailed  account  of  the  development  of  the  town 's  won- 
derful water  power,  its  rapidly  growing  population,  etc.  The 
business  section  was  then  in  the  district  near  the  dam,  as  the 
advertisements  Avill  indicate.  Among  the  first  advertisers  was 
AY.  B.  C.  Pearsons,  attorney  and  counsellor  at  law.  Much  space 
is  given  to  advertisements  and  the  general  interests  of  Chicopee. 
The  issue  of  Saturday,  March  23,  1850,  of  the  Hampden  Freeman 
appears  in  a  new  dress  of  type,  with  a  new  heading  and  under 
new  proprietorship,  Morgan  &  Henderson,  and  for  the  first  time 
does  the  name  "Holyoke"  appear  in  its  date  line,  the  name  "Ire- 
land Depot"  being  permanently  dropped.  This  issue  contains  an 
elaborate  description  and  sectional  plan  of  the  wonderful  dam, 
and  in  its  leading  editorial  gives  its  platform  and  principles, 
stating:  "To  our  Whig  friends  we  offer  our  kindest  wishes  and 
zealous  support,  and  we  shall  sustain,  as  well  as  we  may,  the 
principles  of  the  great  and  national  Whig  party.  We  are  op- 
posed to  the  extension  of  slavery  into  the  new  territories,  and  we 
are  as  much  opposed  to  the  policy  of  certain  leaders  at  the  north 
Avho  style  themselves  the  Free  Soil  Party.  .  ,  As  men,  we 
extend  the  hand  of  friendship  to  our  Democratic  readers  (and  we 
have  a  very  large  number),  and  wish  them  all  success  in  private 
and  personal  enterprises,  but  as  partisans,  we  throw  the  gauntlet 
in  their  midst,  and  in  our  strength  defy  them." 

(      455      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

Saturday,  September  6,  1850,  AYilliam  L.  Morgan  is  named 
as  sole  proprietor. 

The  issue  of  Saturday,  January  15,  1853,  appeared  with  the 
title  changed  to  the  Holyoke  Freeman,  with  A.  B.  F.  Hildreth  as 
editor,  and  having  as  a  part  of  the  heading  a  vignette  of  the 
Holyoke  dam  and  surrounding  landscape,  while  the  paper  was 
considerably  enlarged.  The  new  editor  took  occasion  to  say,  ''As 
before  intimated,  our  course  will  be  free,  frank  and  independent. 
In  no  other  way  can  a  press  exercise  its  due  influence,  and  com- 
mand that  respect  to  which  it  is  entitled.  A  truckling,  time- 
serving public  journal  is  of  all  things,  most  contemptible,  and  its 
influence  must  be  deprecated.  Therefore,  as  long  as  we  shall 
have  occasion  to  cater  for  the  intellectual  palate,  we  must  do  so, 
'Unawed  by  influence,  and  Unbridled  by  gain.'  " 

The  first  issue  of  the  Holyoke  Weekly  Mirror  appeared  Sat- 
urday, January  7.  1854,  bearing  the  name  of  A.  B.  F.  Hildreth 
as  proprietor.  For  some  time  the  town  had  been  without  a  news- 
paper, and  in  his  leading  editorial  the  editor  states :  "The  Mirror 
will  be  held  up  to  nature,  or  in  other  words,  it  will  seek  to  give  a 
true  reflection  of  men  and  things  as  they  shall  appear  from  week 
to  week."  The  phenomenal  growth  of  the  town  is  repeatedly 
referred  to,  and  in  fact,  the  succeeding  issues  of  all  the  papers 
Holyoke  has  ever  had,  teem  with  the  subject,  and  very  justly  so, 
for  where  else  in  the  county  has  there  been  greater  reason  to  harp 
upon  rapid  and  substantial  growth?  And  where  else  could  be 
found  so  prolific  a  news  field  as  that  offered  by  a  town,  with  a 
growing  and  cosmopolitan  population,  with  the  accidents  and 
incidents  connected  with  canal  digging,  mill  building,  or  occa- 
sional lively  ''scraps"  between  people  of  different  nationalities, 
with  the  ever-present  political  strife?  With  mills  rising  on  all 
sides,  like  mushrooms,  and  the  facts  incident  to  their  growth,  the 
town  was  a  real  news-incubator,  although  it  must  be  admitted 
that,  like  all  i)apers  of  the  period,  the  Mirror  appeared  to  make 
very  little  of  the  strictly  local  features. 

With  the  issue  of  Saturday  morning,  November  24.  1855,  the 
Hoh'oke  ]\firror  appeared  under  the  proprietorship  of  Lilley  & 
Pratt,  who.  referring  to  their  paper,  say.  "From  being  a  'straight 

(      456      ) 


THE  PRESS 

Whig'  it  will  become  an  independent  journal.  By  this,  we  do  not 
desire  to  have  it  understood  that  the  Mirror  will  be  a  neutral 
paper.  By  no  means !  On  the  contrary,  it  will  plainly  and  bold- 
ly advocate  all  public  measures  which  it  shall  deem  essential  to 
the  interests  of  the  connnunity,  and  denounce  those  which  may 
appear  to  have  injurious  features  and  tendencies,  without  regard 
to  the  party  by  which  they  may  be  originated  or  supported. ' ' 

With  the  issue  of  February  2,  1856,  the  editors  of  the  Mirror 
explain  the  adoption  of  a  smaller  form  for  their  sheet,  as  follows : 
"We  appear  before  you,  this  week,  with  a  smaller  sheet  than  we 
have  been  wont  to  do,  and  justice  to  our  readers  requires  that  we 
explain  our  motive  for  so  doing,  whicli  we  hope,  when  carefully 
examined  will  prove  satisfactory  to  all.  In  the  first  place,  the 
glory  and  honor  of  publishing  a  large  paper  we  care  nothing 
about.  We  publish  a  paper  to  make  money,  and  the  paper  that 
pays  best  will  be  best,  not  only  for  the  publisher,  but  for  the  sub- 
scriber. It  is  not  the  size  of  a  paper  that  determines  its  worth, 
and  we  are  among  those  who  believe  that  a  little,  well  done,  is 
much  better  than  a  great  deal  poorly  done.  We  have  found,  by 
trial,  that  the  subscription  list  of  the  Mirror,  although  now  good, 
and  daily  increasing,  never  has  paid,  and  will  not  pay  for  the 
labor  bestowed  upon  so  large  a  paper,  and  pay  us  besides,  a  fair, 
living  profit.  What  we  mean  now  to  do  is,  that  while  we  shall 
give  you  less  reading  matter,  we  shall  endeavor  to  embrace  all 
the  news  in  a  more  condensed  form,  and  give  choicer  selections  of 
miscellaneous  reading.  AA^e  wish  to  publish  a  paper  that  shall  be 
at  the  same  time,  best  for  our  patrons  and  ourselves. ' ' 

Pratt  &  AVheelock  succeeded  Lilley  &  Pratt  with  the  issue  of 
August  9,  1856,  and  in  that  paper  Mr.  Lilley  makes  his  editorial 
farewell  bow.  An  editorial  in  the  issue  of  December  5,  1857, 
dwells  at  length  on  the  subject  of  the  issue  between  the  Catholics 
and  Protestants  of  Holyoke,  in  the  matter  of  the  Bible  in  the 
public  schools,  taking  sides  very  firmly  with  the  Protestants,  and 
winding  up  with  a  quotation  from  a  speech  of  Mr.  Choate : 
"  AVhat !  Give  up  the  reading  of  the  Bible  in  our  common  schools? 
Never!  never!  as  long  as  a  piece  of  Plymouth  Rock  is  left  big 
enough  to  make  a  gun  flint  out  of !" 

(      457      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  UfS  PEOPLE 

Myrou  C.  Pratt  became  sole  owner  with  the  issue  of  Novem- 
ber 20,^  1858. 

The  Holyoke  Transcript,  established  in  1863,  Burt  &  Lyman 
proprietors,  gives  in  its  earlier  issues  the  trend  of  Holyoke  life 
during  the  Civil  war.  With  the  first  issue  of  their  second  vol- 
ume, April  9,  1864,  the  editors  say:  "The  year  preceding  the 
commencement  of  the  Transcript  was  perhaps  among  the  darkest 
that  Holyoke  has  seen,  and  while  our  enterprise  received  liberal 
encouragement,  there  w-ere  many  who  looked  upon  it  with  doubt 
as  to  its  success. ' '  Thus,  it  will  be  noted,  between  the  lines,  that 
Holyoke  journalism  was  not  a  long,  sweet  dream,  but  severely 
and  strenuously  practical,  with  the  expense  account  spectre  ever 
haunting  the  publishers'  domains. 

September  24,  1864,  Mr.  Lyman's  name  appears  alone  as 
proprietor,  and  in  April,  1867,  the  paper  was  somewhat  enlarged 
and  adopted  a  different  style  heading,  wdth  the  characteristic  dam 
as  a  feature.  With  the  dawning  of  the  70 's  the  Transcript  gave 
evidence  of  the  mercantile  and  industrial  growth  of  Holyoke,  in 
the  increased  and  diversified  advertising  patronage,  and  the  local 
news  columns  showed  marked  expansion,  the  newer  spirit  having 
taken  hold.  With  the  issue  of  February  11,  1871,  the  Transcript 
appears  with  the  names  of  Lyman  &  Kirtland  as  publishers,  Mr. 
E.  L.  Kirtland  having  been  taken  into  partnership.  The  Tran- 
script had  now  taken  on  the  eight  page  form. 

Holyoke 's  first  daily  paper  appeared  October  9,  1882,  in  a 
daily  edition  of  the  Transcript  in  four  page  form,  six  columns  to- 
the  page,  with  Loomis  &  Dwight  as  publishers,  and  the  growth  of 
the  paper  since  that  time  has  been  continuous,  keeping  well  up  in 
the  journalistic  procession,  with  modern  mechanical  equipment, 
and  able  editing.  January  1,  1888,  Mr.  Dwight  became  sole  pro- 
prietor, and  has  conducted  the  paper  alone,  at  the  stand  so  long 
occupied  by  it  on  High  street. 

Since  the  birth  of  journalism  in  Holyoke,  there  have  been 
many  new  ventures  in  the  way  of  newspapers,  which  have  been 
started  to  fill  "a  long  felt  want,"  or  to  boom  the  causes  of  this  or 
that  political  party  or  clique,  unable  otherwise  to  reach  the  publie 
mind,  and  obtain  an  audience  for  the  promulgation  of  certain 

(      458      ) 


THE  PRESS 

ideas.  These  papers  have  ]ived  for  a  time,  sailing  more  or  less 
against  the  tide,  but  eventually  have  sunk,  and  aside  from  the 
long  established  Transcript,  which  is  itself  the  survivor  of  a  long 
line  that  has  had  succession  from  Holyoke's  first  paper,  all  have 
proved  short-lived. 

Holyoke's  other  daily,  the  Evening  Telegram,  which  has  its 
office  in  the  Senior  building  on  High  street,  was  established  June 
11,  1898,  and  is  a  one  cent  democratic  paper,  with  a  modern  plant. 
The  organizer  and  first  editor  of  the  Telegram  was  P.  J.  Kennedy, 
and  the  original  olBce  of  publication  was  in  the  Whitcomb  build- 
ing on  Dwight  street,  he  being  succeeded  by  E.  H.  McPhee,  and 
he,  in  turn  followed  by  George  F.  Jenks.  During  the  first  year 
or  more  of  its  existence,  the  Telegram  had  as  a  rival,  besides  the 
old-established  Transcript,  another  young  daily,  the  Evening 
Glohe,  which  gave  up  the  fight  in  February,  1900.  On  Monday 
evening,  June  11,  1900,  the  Telegram  issued  an  anniversary  num- 
ber, which  was  fully  up  to  the  standard  of  such  efforts,  and  in 
which  is  given  a  revicAv  of  the  city's  progress  during  the  few 
years  of  the  paper's  existence.  Like  most  modern  papers,  the 
Telegram  has  a  department  devoted  to  the  spicy  paragraphing  of 
the  events  of  the  hour,  the  one  in  this  case  being  headed  ''Obser- 
vations. ' ' 

AYitli  the  large  foreign  population,  drawn  into  Holyoke  by 
its  varied  industries,  it  is  but  natural  that  they  should  have  a 
journal  printed  in  their  native  tongue,  and  so  we  find  as  the 
representative  paper  of  the  Germans,  of  whom  there  are  7,000,  or 
about  one-sixth  of  Holyoke 's  population,  the  New  England  Bund- 
scliau,  semi- weekly,  published  by  the  German- American  Publish- 
ing Co.  from  their  office  on  South  Main  street,  Holyoke,  in  the 
center  of  the  German  population.  This  is  the  oldest  paper  in  the 
Paper  City,  aside  from  the  Transcript,  having  been  established  in 
July,  1882.  Besides  the  Holyoke  issue,  there  are  editions  printed 
for  circulation  in  Springfield,  Rockville,  and  for  the  towns  of 
Berkshire  county. 

Another  paper  to  share  the  Teutonic  journalistic  honors, 
though  on  a  more  modest  scale  is  Die  Biene  (the  Bee),  which  has 
its  office  on  Sargeant  street,  within  a  stone's  throw  of  the  office 

(      459      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

of  its  contemporary  above  mentioned.  Die  Biene  was  established 
in  1893,  and  has  for  its  publisher  August  Lehmann.  It  is  pub- 
lished on  "Wednesdays.  A  special  edition  under  the  heading 
''Vorwarts''  (Forward),  is  issued  for  circulation  in  Springfield. 
One  finding  himself  in  the  German  quarter  of  Holyoke,  with  the 
tongue  of  the  Fatherland  spoken  on  all  sides,  and  especially  as  he 
sees  issuing  from  the  press  the  newspapers  with  their  quaint  Ger- 
man characters,  may  readily  imagine  himself  in  the  land  of  the 
Kaiser.  When  Holyoke,  by  the  enterprise  of  the  early  mill  pros- 
pectors, left  its  early  state  of  villa gehood  and  merged  into  a  man- 
ufacturing community,  the  question  of  securing  operatives  be- 
came important,  and  though  for  a  time  the  native  New  England- 
ers,  and  later,  the  families  of  the  Irish  laborers  w^ho  had  been 
imported  to  work  on  the  dam,  sufficed  as  "hands"  in  the  mills,  it 
was  not  long  before  an  exodus  set  in  from  Canada  to  Holyoke, 
where  hundreds  of  families  have  found  a  home  and  positions  as 
operatives  in  the  various  industries,  growing  up,  and  improving 
socially,  until  now,  the  French  population  of  the  Paper  City  is  in 
itself  important,  and  not  a  few  among  them,  by  thrift,  and 
through  the  opportunities  offered  by  the  rapid  growth  of  the  city, 
have  become  wealthy.  Churches,  schools,  benevolent  societies 
and  clubs  abound,  adhering  to  and  fostering  the  language  and 
traditions  of  their  people. 

The  French  press  of  Holyoke,  like  its  contemporaries  of 
other  nationalities,  has  had  its  years  of  varied  experience.  The 
journals,  like  men,  have  come  and  gone,  but  for  many  years  the 
city  has  not  been  long  without  some  form  of  French  newspaper. 
At  present.  La  Presse,  which  is  published  from  20  Main  street, 
with  Tesson  &  Carignan  as  editors  and  proprietors,  is  the  organ 
of  the  French-Canadian  population  of  Holyoke,  issuing  as  well 
separate  editions  as  follows:  Le  Globe,  Fitchburg,  Mass. ;  Le  Can- 
adien,  Somersworth  and  Dover,  N.  H. ;  Le  Canadien- American, 
Norwich,  Ct. ;  Le  Connecticut,  Waterbury,  Ct.  These  papers 
reach  a  field  touched  by  no  other  papers,  and  are  therefore  im- 
portant factors  in  New  England  journalism. 

La  Presse  was  established  as  a  v.'eekly  in  1895,  and  as  a  semi- 
weekly  in  1898. 

(      460      ) 


THE  PRESS 

Incidentally,  it  may  be  stated  that  at  the  office  of  La  Fresse, 
is  done  the  mechanical  work  on  the  Holyoke  Free  Fress,  which 
caters,  perhaps  more  than  the  other  papers,  to  the  so-called  sensa- 
tional features  of  Holyoke 's  news  field.  With  the  German  and 
French  papers  of  the  city,  an  important  task  in  the  editorial  de- 
partments, is  the  translation  of  "copy,"  which  is  handed  in  by 
advertisers  and  the  English-writing  contributors  generally,  into 
the  language  of  the  paper,  so  that  it  may  be  conveniently  put  into 
type  by  the  compositors,  who  are  above  the  ordinary  of  such  ar- 
tisans in  that  the  multitude  of  special  characters,  accents,  etc., 
peculiar  to  the  languages,  require  special  knowledge. 

Aside  from  the  regular  business  of  newspaper  publication,  a 
vast  amount  of  general  printing  is  done  in  the  city,  through  the 
requirements  of  its  many  and  varied  industries.  Most  of  the 
newspapers  have  job  plants  connected,  and  Holyoke  has  more 
than  a  national  reputation  for  the  excellence  of  its  special  and 
high  class  printing,  as  is  attested  in  the  world's  leading  typo- 
graphical journals. 

THE  PRESS  OF  CHICOPEE 

The  first  newspaper  within  the  limits  of  Chicopee,  was  issued 
in  January,  1840,  by  Thomas  D.  Blossom,  who  came  from  Hing- 
ham,  Mass.  The  paper  was  called  the  CahotviUe  Chronicle  and 
Chicopee  Falls  Advertiser.  The  paper  changed  hands,  and  was 
called  the  Mechanics'  Offering.  In  August,  1846,  a  company 
composed  of  Messrs.  Hervey  Russell,  Amos  W.  Stockwell,  and 
James  M.  Cavanaugh,  purchased  the  paper,  and  changed  the 
name  to  the  CahotviUe  Mirror,  democratic  in  politics.  The  es- 
tablislunent  was  destroyed  by  fire  in  1848.  In  November,  1849, 
the  subscription  list  was  transferred  to  the  Springfield  Sentinel, 
which  issued  it  under  the  head  of  the  Chicopee  Mirror,  until  Feb. 
2,  1850.  The  Chicopee  Telegraph  was  first  issued  by  J.  C. 
Stoever  &  Co.,  on  February  11th,  1846,  and  was  largely  devoted 
to  agricultural  and  kindred  topics,  and  in  May,  1853,  J.  E.  Childs 
took  the  paper,  and  changed  its  name  to  the  Chicopee  Weekly 
Journal,  Whig  in  politics.  Successive  proprietors  and  editors 
were  David  B.  Potts,  James  C.  Pratt,  William  G.  Brown,  J.  C. 

(      461      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

Havens  and  George  V.  Wheelock.  The  paper  was  discontinued 
Dec.  27,  1862.  Mr.  Havens  was  perhaps  most  prominent  among 
the  older  editors,  being  identified  with  the  local  life  of  the  place, 
and  postmaster  for  a  time. 

The  files  of  the  Chicopee  papers,  preserved  in  the  library  of 
that  city,  are  a  most  valuable  means  of  tracing  the  growth  of  the 
place,  and  very  interesting  articles  are  printed,  even  in  the  earlier 
issues,  bearing  on  the  history  of  Cabotville.  The  Chicopee  Tele- 
graph was  especially  well  printed ;  in  fact,  its  appearance  to-day, 
is  in  a  mechanical  sense,  far  superior  to  the  majority  of  modern 
weekly  sheets.  The  advertisements  give  a  synopsis  of  the  busi- 
ness life  of  ''Merchants  Row." 

The  Chicopee  Journal  was  vigorous  and  outspoken  in  its 
treatment  of  local  affairs ;  and  in  the  issue  of  Sept.  2,  1854,  dur- 
ing the  cholera  epidemic,  speaks  of  ''Additional  deaths  on  the 
'Patch,'  owing  to  nonsensical  fear,  swinish  filth  and  miserable 
liquor.  Most  of  the  deaths  occur  on  Mondays,  the  result  of  the 
previous  day's  rum  drinking.  Some  of  the  people  on  the 
'Patch'  act  like  double-and-twisted  fools,  as  well  as  brutes,  upon 
the  subject,  entirely  forsaking  the  sick." 

As  a  specimen  item,  relating  to  the  industries  of  Chicopee, 
the  following  is  given : 

' '  The  Ames  company  of  Chicopee  have  been  engaged  for  sev- 
eral months  past  in  manufacturing  cannon,  bomb-shells  and 
grape  shot  for  His  Most  Serene  Highness,  Antonio  Lopez  de 
Santa  Anna.  Of  the  last  named  article,  two  hundred  tons  have 
been  engaged,  and  we  do  not  believe  that  the  old,  one-legged  hum- 
bug will  have  killed  a  hundred  men  after  they  are  all  used  up." 

With  the  decadence  of  some  of  Chicopee 's  old  industries, 
and  the  shifting  of  population,  added  to  its  proximity  to  Spring- 
field with  an  ample  news  service  covering  well  the  Chicopee  in- 
terests, journalism  of  a  local  issuance  has  been  almost  totally 
abandoned  there,  one  or  two  small  job  offices  being  all  that  re- 
main to  represent  the  printing  business. 


(      462      ) 


\ 


THE  PBE88 


THE  PRESS  OF  PALMER 


The  history  of  journalism  in  Palmer  exceeds  half  a  century, 
the  first  attempt  at  newspaper  publishing  being  made  by  Whitte- 
more  &  Tenney,  who  commenced  the  Palmer  Sentinel  in  Janu- 
ary, 1846,  and  continued  it  about  a  year,  when  it  was  removed  to 
Springfield.  D.  F.  Ashley  started  the  Palmer  Times  in  1847, 
but  it  began  and  ended  with  the  first  number.  The  Palmer 
Journal  first  appeared  April  6,  1850,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
"Palmer  Publishing  Association,"  with  Gordon  M.  Fiske  as  edi- 
tor and  manager.  Mr.  Fiske  bought  out  the  plant  at  the  end  of 
the  first  year.  He  was  a  born  journalist,  and  laid  the  founda- 
tion of  one  of  the  best  conducted  country  papers  of  the  state.  His 
editorials  were  strong  from  the  first,  and  were  firm  in  the  advo- 
cacy of  temperance,  and  anti-slavery,  and  on  the  side  of  reform 
generally.  The  body  of  the  paper  was  made  up  of  good  selec- 
tions and  general  news.  Personals  and  local  news  did  not  then, 
as  now,  attract  attention.  Mr.  Fiske  was  quite  a  poet,  but  never 
published  his  efi^usions  over  his  own  name.  In  1867,  during  a 
prolonged  session  of  the  Legislature,  he  published  a  poem  in  the 
Journal  entitled  ' '  The  wife  at  home  to  her  husband  in  the  Legis- 
lature,"  being  a  parody  on  "Father,  Come  Home."  This  was 
a  great  hit,  and  was  copied  far  and.  wide,  but  it  was  not  known 
till  years  afterwards  that  Mr.  Fiske  w^as  the  author.  In  1860 
and  1861,  Mr.  Fiske  was  elected  to  the  State  Senate  and  later,  he 
held  a  position  on  the  visiting  committee  of  the  Monson  State 
Institution.  Under  his  management,  the  Journal  had  a  wide 
field  of  influence,  and  a  large  circulation.  In  1855,  A.  S.  Goff 
was  received  as  a  partner  in  the  Journal  printing  office.  He 
was  succeeded  by  James  McLaughlin  in  1862,  who  was  followed 
a  few  years  later  by  A.  W.  Briggs,  w'ho  gave  place  to  H.  J.  Law- 
rence in  1871.  Mr.  Fiske  remained  as  editor,  till  his  decease  in 
1879,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  his  son,  Charles  B.  Fiske,  who 
enlarged  and  added  many  improvements  in  1883.  In  1885,  L.  E. 
Chandler  was  admitted  into  the  firm,  and  after  a  few  years,  be- 
came the  editor  of  the  paper,  but  the  firm  continues  to  be  C.  B. 
Fiske  &  Co.      The  paper  was  again  enlarged  in  1891.       It  con- 

(      4G3      ) 


OIR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

tinues  to  be  one  of  the  best  made  up  of  country  papers,  and  has 
a  large  circulation  at  home  and  in  other  states.  Its  local  news 
covers  a  radius  of  ten  miles  around  Palmer  as  a  center.  Of  late 
years,  it  has  frequently  been  illustrated  with  cuts  of  prominent 
local  men  and  of  local  scenes  and  incidents.  It  has  also  paid 
much  attention  to  local  history,  as  well  as  passing  events,  which 
has  added  much  to  its  popularity.  Its  managers  are  wide  awake 
for  the  interests  of  its  patrons,  and  spare  no  pains  in  making 
each  paper  interesting. 

The  first  number  of  the  Palmer  Herald  appeared  June  18, 
1891.  It  was  an  eight  page  paper,  published  by  Morse  & 
Cady,  and  was  continued  till  January  28,  1894,  when  the  plant 
was  destroyed  in  the  burning  of  Holden's  Opera  House  block,  in 
which  it  was  located.  The  paper  had  obtained  a  good  circula- 
tion, and  had  won  a  fair  degree  of  success.  After  the  fire,  its 
interests  were  purchased  by  the  Palmer  Journal,  and  its  publica- 
tion discontinued. 

The  Palmer  Citizen  was  published  bi-monthly,  during  the 
years  1895-6-7.  It  was  edited  by  Kev.  F.  E.  Jenkins,  in  the  in- 
terests of  no-license,  and  conducted  a  strenuous  crusade  against 
the  liquor  traffic  in  Palmer  and  surrounding  towns,  and  created 
a  wide  spread  interest. 


CHAPTER  XXII 
FREE   MASONRY 

BY   HENRY   L.    HINES 


Organized  ^Masonry  was  introduced  into  Hampden  county 
in  1796,  just  sixty-three  years  after  its  introduction  into  Massa- 
chusetts. Previous  to  this  date,  however.  Masonic  meetings  were 
held  at  the  homes  of  members  of  the  craft,  or  in  rooms  set  apart 
for  this  purpose  in  the  public  taverns.  At  these  meetings  the 
lectures  would  be  rehearsed  and  the  brethren  were  undoubtedly 

(      464      ) 


FREE  MASONRY 

as  perfect  in  the  Avork  as  were  those  who  had  the  advantage  of 
freijuent  attendance  on  regular  and  special  commnnications  of 
lodges. 

Who  were  the  first  JMasons  in  the  county  will  never  be 
known,  nor  can  it  be  learned  when  the  pioneers  first  began  to 
assemble  at  the  homes  of  the  brethren  or  in  the  little  npper  story 
rooms  in  the  taverns,  to  keep  alive  the  interest  in  the  work  of  the 
society.  That  the  degrees  were  conferred  upon  the  pioneers  in 
Boston  is  practically  certain,  although  some  few  may  have  been 
made  Masons  in  New  York.  No  records  are  extant  that  throw 
light  on  this,  however. 

The  early  brethren  never  dreamed  of  the  possibilities  of  the 
fraternity !  The  most  enthusiastic  Mason  of  the  early  years 
could  not  have  realized  the  growth  which  years  were  to  bring  to 
the  order,  nor  the  high  position  it  was  destined  to  hold  in  the 
esteem  of  men.  Those  early  craftsmen  believed  in  the  teachings 
of  Masonry,  they  lived  up  to  those  teachings,  and  laid  the  found- 
ation on  which  others  should  build  the  magnificent  structure 
which  to-day  stands  a  lasting  monument  to  their  wisdom  and 
uprightness  of  life. 

Perhaps  it  may  not  be  out  of  place  to  briefly  sketch  the 
history  of  the  order  in  this  country,  as  a  preface  to  the  history 
of  its  introduction  and  growth  in  the  county.  In  1729,  twelve 
years  after  the  revival  of  Masonry  in  England,  a  provincial 
Grand  Master  was  appointed  for  New  Jersey.  It  cannot  be 
leai-ned,  however,  that  this  official  did  anything  to  spread  the 
teachings  of  the  order.  There  are  extant  no  records  of  lodges 
instituted  by  him,  but  he  maj'  have  organized  a  number  in  New 
Jersey  and  New  York.  If  such  were  organized  they  and  their 
records  have  long  since  ceased  to  exist. 

In  1783  Lord  Viscount  Montacute,  Grand  Master  of  Eng- 
land, commisioned  Henry  Price  of  Boston,  Grand  Master  of 
America.  Masonry  in  this  country  therefore  really  dates  from 
that  appointment,  sixteen  years  after  the  revival  in  England. 

Worshipful  Grand  Master  Price  was  a  man  of  action  and  an 
enthusiastic  Mason.  Immediately  upon  receiving  his  commis- 
sion he  organized  St.  John's  Grand  lodge,  the  first  grand  lodge 


30-1 


(      465      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

in  the  country.  The  same  year,  St.  John's  Grand  lodge  granted 
a  charter  to  St.  John's  lodge  of  Boston,  the  first  "Blue"  or  sub- 
ordinate lodge  in  the  state,  and  so  far  as  the  records  show,  the 
first  in  America. 

In  1752  the  Grand  lodge  of  Scotland,  claiming  equal  juris- 
diction in  the  new  world  with  the  Grand  lodge  of  England, 
granted  a  charter  to  St.  Andrew's  lodge  of  Boston.  This  lodge 
worked  independently  of  St.  John's  Grand  lodge,  to  which  it 
owed  no  allegiance.  In  1769,  assisted  by  three  traveling  lodges 
in  the  British  army,  it  organized  a  grand  lodge  in  Boston,  which 
took  the  name  Grand  lodge  of  Massachusetts.  Joseph  AYarren 
was  elected  its  first  Grand  Master. 

The  result  of  the  new  Grand  lodge,  claiming  jurisdiction  in 
the  state,  was  not  what  its  founders  had  hoped  for.  Naturally 
ill  feeling  was  engendered  between  the  subordinate  lodges  and 
between  the  Grand  lodges,  and  the  growth  of  the  order  was  ac- 
cordingly retarded.  After  tw^enty  years  of  rivalry  the  wise  men 
of  the  two  Grand  lodges  brought  about  a  union  of  the  two  Grand 
lodges,  and  the  Grand  lodge  of  the  Most  Ancient  and  Honorable 
Society  of  Free  and  Accepted  Masons  for  the  commonwealth  of 
Massachusetts  was  the  result. 

With  the  union  came  the  first  marked  forward  move- 
ment of  the  society  which  has  spread  to  every  section  of  the 
country.  In  many  of  the  smaller  towns  it  had  been  impossible 
to  form  lodges  for  the  reason  that  while  there  were  enough 
Masons  to  support  a  lodge,  they  did  not  all  own  allegiance  to  the 
same  Grand  lodge,  and  so  could  not  affiliate  to  the  degree  neces- 
sary to  organize  a  lodge.  But  with  the  union  effected,  all  were 
supporters  of  the  same  Grand  lodge,  and  could  then  organize 
lodges. 

The  first  lodge  chartered  after  the  union  of  the  Grand 
lodges  was  Morning  Star  lodge  of  Worcester,  whose  charter 
bears  date  of  1793.  the  year  following  the  union.  This  was  the 
fourth  lodge  chartered  in  the  state,  there  being  at  this  time  three 
lodges  in  Boston.  In  1795  Republican  lodge  of  Greenfield  was 
chartered  and  charters  were  also  granted  to  lodges  in  Lee  and 
Great  Barrington. 

(      466      ) 


FREE  MASONRY 

In  1796,  four  years  after  the  union  of  the  grand  lodges  and 
sixty-three  after  the  organization  of  the  first  Grand  lodge,  twelve 
Masons  living  in  and  near  IMonson,  petitioned  the  Grand  lodge 
for  a  charter.  The  petitioners  had  all  been  raised  to  the  sublime 
degree  of  Master  Mason  in  Boston,  and  they  were  the  leaders  in 
the  community  in  which  they  lived. 

Paul  Kevere,  of  immortal  fame,  was  at  the  time  Grand  Mas- 
ter of  the  Grand  lodge  and  his  name  appears  on  the  charter 
which  was  granted  to  Thomas  lodge,  and  which  is  preserved  with 
jealous  care  by  the  lodge.  The  charter,  the  first  granted  to  a 
lodge  in  Hampden  county,  is  here  given  in  full  because  of  its 
historic  value : 

CHARTER 

To  all  the  fraternity  to  whom  these  presents  shall  come,  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  the  Most  Ancient  and  Honorable  Society  of 
Free  and  Accepted  Masons,  for  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachu- 
setts, sends  greeting :  Whereas,  a  petition  has  been  presented  to 
us  by  Samuel  Guthrie,  David  Young.  Peter  AValbridge,  Heze- 
kiah  Fiske,  Ephraim  Allen,  Elisha  AYoodward,  Amasa  Stowell, 
John  IMoore,  David  Peck,  Zebediah  Butler,  Jesse  Converse  and 
Isaiah  Blood,  Jun.,  all  Ancient,  Free  and  Accepted  Masons, 
praying  that  they,  with  such  others  as  shall  hereafter  join  them, 
may  be  erected  and  constituted  a  lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted 
Masons,  which  petition,  appearing  to  us  tending  to  the  advance- 
ment of  jNIasonry  and  good  of  the  craft ;  Know  ye  therefore,  that 
we,  the  Grand  Lodge  aforesaid,  reposing  special  trust  and  confi- 
dence in  the  prudence  and  fidelity  of  our  beloved  brethren  above 
named,  have  constituted  and  appointed,  and  by  these  presents 
do  constitute  and  appoint  them,  the  said  Samuel  Guth- 
rie, David  Young,  Peter  AYalbridge,  Hezekiah  Fiske,  Ephraim 
Allen,  Elisha  Woodward,  Amasa  Stowell,  John  Moore,  Da\ad 
Peck,  Zebediah  Butler,  Jesse  Converse  and  Isaiah  Blood,  Jun.,  a 
regular  lodge  of  Free  and  Accepted  INIasons,  under  the  title  and 
designation  of  Thomas  lodge,  hereby  giving  and  granting  unto 
them  and  their  successors,  full  power  and  authority  to  convene 
as  Masons  within  the  town  of  Monson,  in  the  county  of  Hamp- 

(      467      ) 


OLE  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

den,  and  commonwealth  aforesaid,  to  receive  and  enter  appren- 
tices, pass  felloAvcrafts,  and  raise  blaster  jNlasons  upon  the  pay- 
ment of  such  moderate  compensation  for  the  same  as  may  be 
detennined  by  the  said  lodge ;  also  to  make  choice  of  master, 
Avarden,  and  other  office  bearers,  annually  or  otherAvise,  as  they 
shall  see  cause ;  to  receive  and  collect  funds  for  the  relief  of  poor 
and  distressed  brethren,  their  Avidows  or  children,  and  in  gen- 
eral to  transact  all  matters  relating  to  Masonry  Avhich  may  to 
them  appear  to  be  for  the  good  of  the  craft,  according  to  the  an- 
cient usages  and  customs  of  Masons.  And  Ave  do  hereby  require 
the  said  constituted  brethren  to  attend  the  Grand  Lodge  at  their 
quarterly  communications,  and  other  meetings  by  their  Mastere 
and  Wardens,  or  by  proxies,  regularly  appointed,  also  to  keep  a 
fair  and  regular  record  of  all  their  proceedings,  and  lay  them 
before  the  Grand  Lodge  Avhen  required.  And  Ave  do  enjoin  upon 
our  brethren  of  the  said  lodge,  that  they  may  be  punctual  in  the 
quarterly  payments  of  such  sums  as  may  be  assessed  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  Grand  Lodge.  That  they  behave  themselves  respect- 
fully and  obediently  to  their  superiors  in  office,  and  in  all  other 
respects  conduct  themseh'es  as  good  Masons,  and  Ave  do  hereby 
declare  the  precedence  of  the  said  lodge  in  the  Grand  Lodge  and 
elseAA'here  to  commence  from  the  date  of  these  presents. 

In  testimony  Avhereof,  Ave,  the  Grand  ^Master  and  (4 rand 
Wardens,  by  virtue  of  the  poAver  and  authority  to  us  committed, 
haA'e  hereunto  set  our  hands,  and  caused  the  seal  of  the  Grand 
Lodge  to  be  affixed,  at  Boston,  this  December,  the  thirteenth  day, 
Anno  Domini  ISIDCCLXXXXVI,  and  of  Masonry  5796. 

Paul  Revere,  G.  M. 

Samuel  Dunn,  D.  G.  M. 

Isaiah  Thomas.  G.  S.  W. 

Joseph  Laughton,  J.  W. 
Attest:  Daniel  Oliver,  Grand  Secretary. 
Thomas  lodge  adopted  the  name  of  the  Grand  Senior  War- 
den, Isaiah  Thomas,  Avho  afterAvard  Avas  for  a  number  of  years 
Grand  ^Master.  He  acknowledged  the  honor  conferred  upon  him 
by  the  lodge  by  pi'esenting  to  it  a  set  of  jewels  for  the  officers, 
and  he  also  bequeathed  -^100  to  the  lodge  which  was  paid  from 

(      468      ) 


FREE  MASONRY 

his  estate.  Thomas  lodge  secured  quarters  in  the  upper  rooms 
of  the  new  tavern  whicli  had  just  been  completed  by  William 
Norcross,  but  the  lodge  rooms  were  not  dedicated  until  1800. 
This  place  of  meeting  was  occupied  by  the  lodge  until  1835,  when 
the  charter  was  surrendered.  During  the  first  two  years  sixty- 
five  were  admitted  to  membership,  but  the  records  of  the  lodge 
do  not  cover  those  years  and  it  is  not  known  how  many  were 
made  Masons  and  how  many  admitted  by  affiliation. 

Dr.  Samuel  Guthrie  was  the  first  master  of  the  lodge  and  he 
served  until  1802.  The  year  1819  is  an  interesting  one  to  the 
members  of  the  lodge  as  that  j^ear  four  clergymen,  who  later  in 
life  became  very  prominent,  were  made  Masons.  These  were 
Kev.  Alfred  Ely  and  Eev.  Dr.  Simeon  Colton  of  Monson,  and 
Eev.  Dr.  Hosea  Ballon,  2d,  and  Rev.  Dr.  Benjamin  M.  Hill  of 
Stafford,  Conn.  Dr.  Hill  carried  Masonic  enthusiasm  to  New 
Haven  when  he  removed  to  that  city,  and  he  was  largely  instru- 
mental in  the  organization  in  that  city  of  the  commandery  of 
Knights  Templar.  Dr.  Colton  became  president  of  Clinton  col- 
lege, and  Dr.  Ballou  became  the  first  president  of  Tufts  college. 

Thomas  lodge  thrived,  and  from  its  organization  up  to  1835 
it  added  250  names  to  its  membership  roll.  In  that  year,  the 
anti-Masonic  feeling  had  become  so  strong  in  the  town,  many 
members  withdrew  from  the  lodge  from  reasons  of  policy,  and 
the  few  faithful  deemed  it  wise  to  surrender  the  charter.  In 
January,  1835,  thirty  members,  all  that  remained  of  the  member- 
ship, met  and  sadly  wound  up  the  affairs  of  Thomas  lodge. 

The  Bible  and  cushions  were  given  to  Rev.  Dr.  Ely,  the 
venerable  chaplain,  and  it  was  voted  that  the  jewels  remain  in 
the  possession  of  the  officers  last  elected  to  wear  them.  As  there 
was  a  balance  of  $227.55  in  the  treasury,  this  was  divided  into 
thirty  shares,  one  for  each  member  to  use  as  a  charity  fund. 
The  charter  was  surrendered,  the  lights  put  out,  and  what  was 
supposed  to  be  the  last  meeting  of  Thomas  lodge  was  closed  in 
form. 

But  Masonry  was  not  dead  !  In  1856,  the  wave  of  opposition 
to  the  society  having  subsided,  ten  former  members  of  Thomas 
lodge  petitioned  the  Grand  lodge  to  restore  its  charter,  and  per- 

(      469      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

mit  it  to  remove  to  Palmer.  The  Grand  lodge,  welcoming  the 
revival  of  the  spirit  of  Masonry,  granted  the  petition,  restored 
the  charter,  and  authorized  the  lodge  to  meet  in  Palmer.  On 
October  11,  1856,  the  lodge  was  reorganized.  Joseph  L.  Rey- 
nolds, who  was  master  of  the  lodge  at  the  time  of  the  surrender 
of  the  charter,  headed  the  petition  for  its  restoration  and  occu- 
pied the  chair  in  the  East  at  the  reorganization.  In  1896  the 
lodge  celebrated  its  100th  birthday,  the  Grand  lodge  being 
present  to  assist  and  share  in  its  celebration. 

The  second  lodge  chartered  in  the  county  was  Sylvan  lodge 
of  Southwick,  in  1807.  Three  years  later  the  lodge  removed  to 
AVest  Springfield,  and  changed  its  name  to  Friendly  Society 
lodge.  In  West  Springfield  the  lodge  met  in  rooms  on  the  second 
floor  of  the  old  tavern  building  which  stands  near  the  western 
end  of  the  common.  After  its  removal,  for  a  few  years  the  lodge 
grew  in  membership,  but  several  members  withdrew  in  1817  to 
form  Hampden  lodge  of  Springfield,  and  from  that  time  the 
lodge  lost  ground.  Very  few  members  were  admitted  after  1817, 
and  w'hen  the  anti-Masonic  sentiment  became  pronounced  in  1838 
the  few  members  who  had  labored  for  the  life  of  the  lodge  "were 
forced  to  give  up  the  struggle,  and  the  charter  was  surrendered. 

Hampden  lodge  of  Springfield,  the  third  lodge  chartered  in 
the  county,  was  the  outgrowth  of  a  feeling  that  there  was  a  field 
for  such  in  the  rapidly  growing  town.  Col.  Roswell  Lee,  com- 
mandant at  the  United  States  armory,  was  an  enthusiastic  Mason 
and  he  was  instrumental  in  bringing  about  the  formation  of  the 
new  lodge.  The  initiative  was  taken  in  1816,  a  petition  for  a 
charter  was  signed  and  forwarded  to  the  Grand  lodge,  and  a 
dispensation  was  granted  for  work.  The  charter  was  granted 
in  1817,  and  the  first  meeting  under  it  was  held  March  11,  1817, 
The  charter  members  whose  names  appeared  on  the  charter  were 
Koswell  Lee,  George  Colton,  John  Hawkins,  AYarren  Church, 
Diah  Allen,  John  New^berry,  Chester  C.  Chappell,  Joseph  Hop- 
kins, Ezra  Osborn,  jr..  Alba  Fisk,  Joel  Brown,  John  Burt,  Will- 
iam H.  Foster  and  Stephen  Coally,  jr. 

Colonel  Lee  was  elected  the  first  master  of  the  lodge.  Justice 
Willard,  senior  warden,  Elisha  Tobey,  junior  warden,  George 
Colton,  secretary,  John  HaAvkins,  treasurer. 

(      470      ) 


FREE  MASONRY 

The  meetings  of  the  lodge  were  held  in  the  old  Hampden 
house,  which  stood  at  the  corner  of  Main  and  West  Court  streets. 
Later  the  Carew  building  was  erected  at  the  southeast  corner  of 
Main  and  State  streets,  the  site  of  the  present  Masonic  temple, 
and  to  this  the  lodge  removed,  the  building  being  erected  princi- 
pally for  its  accommodation.  This  was  the  first  building  in  the 
county  and  possibly  in  the  state,  erected  for  a  Masonic  home. 

In  1827  the  Masonic  hall  at  the  corner  of  State  and  Market 
streets  was  completed  and  was  occupied  by  the  lodge  and  the 
other  Masonic  bodies  in  the  city.  On  May  12,  1874,  the  lodge 
held,  its  first  meeting  in  the  rooms  which  the  Masonic  bodies  had 
fitted  up  in  the  Massachusetts  Mutual  Life  Insurance  company's 
building  on  Main  street.  These  rooms  were  occupied  until  the 
removal  to  the  temple,  the  present  home. 

In  common  with  other  Masonic  bodies  in  the  country,  Hamp- 
den lodge  felt  the  effect  of  the  anti-Masonic  sentiment,  which, 
beginning  in  1826,  grew  more  bitter  during  the  following  years, 
until  it  required  no  little  moral  courage  to  proclaim  one's  self  a 
Mason,  and  in  full  accord  with  the  teachings  and  practice  of  the 
order.  As  an  illustration  of  the  effect  of  this  sentiment,  Hamp- 
den lodge  admitted  twenty-four  members  in  1826,  nine  in  1827, 
only  three  in  1828,  one  by  affiliation  in  1829,  and  one  each  in  the 
following  two  years.  It  is,  therefore,  little  wonder  that  the 
lodge  ceased  to  work.  For  fourteen  years,  from  1832  to  1846, 
no  work  w^as  done.  A  few  members  met  once  a  year,  in  secret, 
and  elected  officers. 

In  1834  the  Grand  lodge  ordered  that  the  charters  of  all 
lodges  not  working  be  surrendered.  Several  of  the  members  of 
Hampden  lodge  favored  complying  with  the  demand  of  the 
Grand  lodge,  but  the  majority  of  the  faithful  were  of  a  different 
opinion.  At  a  meeting  held  September  17,  1834,  the  lodge 
passed  the  following  resolution : 

"Resolved,  That  Ave  will  never  consent  to  be  deprived  of  our 
rights  and  privileges,  which  belong  to  us  as  free  citizens  of  a  free 
country,  and  in  our  opinion  it  is  not  expedient  or  necessary  that 
the  Masonic  charter  should  be  surrendered  and  cancelled." 

Some  of  the  members  held  that  this  resolution  was  an  act  of 
insubordination,  and  it  was  feared  that  the  charter  Avould  be 

(      471      ) 


01' R  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

stolen  and  forwarded  b^-  some  of  these  to  the  Grand  lodge. 
Ocran  Dickinson,  one  of  the  staunch  members  of  the  fraternity, 
who  was  opposed  to  the  surrender  of  the  charter,  secured  posses- 
sion of  it  and  secretly  placed  it  in  the  vault  of  one  of  the  Spring- 
field banks.  The  secret  of  its  hiding  place  was  faithfully  kept 
and  it  is  donl)tful  if  he  took  any  one  into  his  confidence  in  the 
matter. 

A  few  faithful  members  held  secret  meetings  during  the 
fourteen  years  of  Masonic  darkness,  but  these  meetings  were 
solely  to  keep  alive  the  love  of  each  member  for  the  order.  The 
time  and  place  of  meeting  was  known  only  to  the  few,  and  those 
not  informed  supposed  that  Masonry  was  dead. 

In  1846  the  lodge  began  holding  regular  meetings.  The 
charter  long  hidden  was  brought  to  light  and  placed  in  the  hands 
of  the  master.  With  the  revival  came  renewed  life  for  the  lodge. 
Men  prominent  in  public  and  business  life  enrolled  as  members 
of  the  society.  Forty-four  members  have  been  elected  to  the 
office  of  master  of  the  lodge.  Of  these  eighteen  are  now  living. 
On  the  evening  of  March  11,  1901,  the  lodge  celebrated  its  S-tth 
birthday,  and  the  occasion  was  graced  by  the  presence  of  the 
Grand  lodge.  Grand  Master  Charles  T.  Gallagher,  on  behalf  of 
the  lodge,  presented  to  the  living  pastmasters,  pastmasters' 
jewels.  This  was  something  unique  in  the  history  of  Masonry  in 
the  country,  and  an  occasion  long  to  be  remembered  by  the  mem- 
bers, and  by  the  many  visitors  present  on  the  occasion. 

The  fourth  lodge  in  the  county  was  not  chartered  until  1848. 
Anti-Masonry  Avas  dead.  It  had  died  a  lingering  death,  but  like 
a  storm  it  had  cleared  the  atmosphere.  Masonry  had  outlived 
the  bitter  sentiment  which  raged  against  it,  and  was  no  longer 
under  the  ban  of  popular  condemnation.  Chicopee  lodge  was 
the  fourth  lodge  chartered  in  the  county. 

Two  years  later,  in  1848,  Mt.  Holyoke  lodge  was  chartered. 
S.  K.  Hutchinson,  Hez  Hutchins,  K.  S.  Buss,  U.  AY.  Quint.  Sam- 
uel Oliver,  Samuel  Flinn,  Charles  Mason  and  William  Gevat 
signed  the  petition  for  the  charter.  S.  K.  Hutchinson  was  elect- 
ed the  first  master  of  the  lodge.  In  all  twenty-six  brothers  have 
been  elected  to  the  chair.     Five  years  ago  the  lodge  rented  quar- 

(      472      ) 


FREE  MASONRY 

ters  on  High  street  i'or  a  term  of  ten  years.  Two  floors  of  the 
block  are  used  for  hxlge  purposes.  The  charter  bears  the  names 
of  Edward  A.  liaymond.  (irand  Master,  and  Charles  AV.  ]\Ioore. 
Grand  Secretary. 

In  1855  a  movement  was  set  on  foot  for  a  lodge  in  AVestfield. 
P.  H.  Boise,  a  member  of  ]\lt.  Tom  lodge,  E.  V.  Greene,  W.  A. 
Johnson,  L.  B.  AYalkley,  Henry  Loomis,  C.  H.  Rand,  A.  Camp- 
bell, 2d,  G.  L.  Laflin  and  John  Avery,  all  members  of  Hampden 
lodge,  and  F.  Fowley.  a  memlxn-  of  Apollo  lodge  of  Siiffield.  Ct., 
petitioned  for  a  charter,  which  was  granted  for  the  lodge  to  be 
known  as  Mount  Moriah  lodge.  The  lodge  was  instituted  Feb- 
ruary 12,  1856.  P.  H.  Boise  was  elected  master.  Of  the  ten 
charter  members,  two,  W.  A.  Johnson  and  L.  B.  Walkley,  became 
masters  of  the  lodge.  In  all  twenty-two  members  have  been 
elected  to  the  chair.  Since  its  institution  the  lodge  has  made  523 
Masons  and  its  present  membership  is  308.  Its  pleasant  lodge 
rooms  are  situated  on  the  fifth  floor  of  Parks  block. 

Thomas  lodge  having  removed  from  JNIonson  to  Palmer  at 
the  revival,  the  INIasons  of  Monson  felt  the  need  of  a  lodge  more 
easy  of  access,  and  in  1862  a  charter  was  granted  for  Day  Spring 
lodge.  This  lodge,  which  has  a  membership  of  over  eightj",  occu- 
pies the  fleld  formerly  held  by  Thomas  lodge,  but  its  jurisdiction 
is  much  smaller. 

Hampden  lodge  of  Springfield  having  grown  with  years,  in 
1864  a  second  lodge  was  instituted  in  the  city.  This  lodge 
adopted  the  name  of  Roswell  Lee  in  honor  of  the  first  master  of 
Hampden  lodge.  Ezekiel  Clarke  was  elected  the  first  master. 
Hampden  lodge  had  favored  the  institution  of  the  new  lodge  and 
aided  it  in  many  ways  during  its  first  years.  The  lodge  thus 
started  under  the  most  favorable  circumstances.  From  its  start 
to  the  present  time  there  has  been  a  constant  acquisition  of  mem- 
bers, until  to-day  it  is  the  largest  lodge  in  the  state,  its  member- 
ship being  over  560.  Twenty-two  masters  have  presided  over  the 
lodge.  Among  the  treasures  of  the  lodge  is  a  Bible  which  Avas 
presented  to  it  by  the  late  0.  H.  Greenleaf.  On  this  over  seven 
hundred  members  had  been  obligated  at  the  time  it  was  placed 
in  a  cal)inet  for  preservation,  a  new  Bible  having  been  purchased 
by  active  members  of  the  lodge  and  presented  to  it  in  1899. 

(      473      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

Belcher  lodge  of  Chicopee  was  chartered  in  1870.  The  same 
year  Rev.  Dr.  E.  Cooke  and  eighteen  other  Masons  in  Wilbra- 
ham  Mere  granted  a  charter  for  Newton  lodge.  Brother  Cooke 
was  elected  the  first  master. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  Masons  of  AVilbraham  to  consider 
the  matter  of  forming  a  lodge  was  held  at  the  office  of  Dr.  Steb- 
bins  Foskit,  October  6,  1870.  Other  meetings  were  held  there 
and  at  the  office  of  Rev.  Dr.  Edward  Cooke,  principal  of  Wes- 
leyan  academy.  The  first  meeting  after  the  dispensation  w'as 
held  in  Binney  hall,  one  of  the  academy  buildings,  on  November 
2,  1870.  The  first  meeting  in  the  present  lodge  rooms  was  held 
January  4,  1871.  The  charter  members  of  the  lodge  were  Rev. 
Dr.  Edward  Cooke,  Dr.  S.  Foskit,  C.  G.  Robbins,  AV.  H.  Day, 
J.  AY.  Green,  J.  S.  Morgan,  E.  Jones,  E.  B.  Newell,  W.  F.  Mor- 
gan, L.  J.  Potter,  AY.  L.  Collins,  A.  Boothby,  C.  M.  Parker,  AY.  M. 
Green,  AY.  Kent,  D.  A.  Atchinson,  H.  H.  Calkins,  and  AA^.  T. 
Eaton.  About  one-half  of  the  charter  members  withdrew  from 
Hampden  lodge  of  Springfield  to  form  Newton  lodge.  The  lodge 
started  Avith  nineteen  charter  members  and  received  by  affiliation 
thirteen  and  has  made  131  Masons.  The  present  membership  is, 
however,  but  fifty-three. 

One  night  in  1875  there  was  considerable  excitement  in  New- 
ton lodge,  caused  by  a  fire  in  the  barn  of  one  of  the  charter  mem- 
bers, Dr.  Foskit.  The  barn  was  near  the  lodge  rooms  and  the 
fire  threatened  to  spread  to  the  nearby  buildings.  About  forty 
brothers  were  in  the  hall  and  most  of  these  were  excused  at  once 
and  rendered  efficient  service  in  putting  out  the  fire.  After  they 
withdrew  the  lodge  was  regularly  closed  in  form  with  only  the 
traditional  number  present. 

In  1891  the  Masons  in  Ludlow  applied  for  a  charter  for  a 
lodge  and  a  dispensation  was  granted  and  meetings  held.  In 
1892  the  charter  was  issued  and  the  lodge  instituted.  It  took  the 
name  of  Brigham  in  honor  of  the  long  time  superintendent  of  the 
Ludlow  mills.  Of  the  charter  members  about  twenty-seven  with- 
drew from  New^ton  lodge  to  form  Brigham.  The  other  charter 
members  were  members  of  the  Springfield  lodges. 

The  two  lodges  in  Springfield  had  grown  to  such  member- 
ship that  in  1894  a  movement  was  set  on  foot  for  a  third  lodge 

(      474      ) 


FREE  MASONRY 

and  several  Masons  applied  for  a  charter.  This  was  granted  and 
in  1895  Springfield  lodge  was  instituted.  Harry  W.  Haskins, 
who  had  been  senior  warden  of  Roswell  Lee  lodge,  was  elected 
master  of  the  new  lodge.  Brother  Haskins  is  now  the  district 
deputy  grand  master  for  the  sixteenth  Masonic  district,  receiv- 
ing his  appointment  from  the  hands  of  the  Grand  Master. 

The  organization  of  Hampden  lodge  of  Masons  in  Spring- 
field was  the  signal  for  further  advance  in  organized  Masonry  in 
the  county.  As  numerous  Masons  had  received  their  Master 
JNIason's  degree  in  Boston,  so  several  had  advanced  in  the  higher 
degrees  in  the  same  city. 

At  a  meeting  of  Chapter  members  held  on  September  15, 
1817,  it  was  voted  to  apply  to  the  Grand  chapter  for  a  charter. 
The  petition  for  a  charter  met  with  favor  in  the  Grand  chapter 
and  a  dispensation  was  issued  forthwith.  Morning  Star  chapter 
was  organized  under  this  dispensation  and  Avorked  under  it  until 
June  29,  1818,  Avhen  the  charter  was  granted.  This  charter,  the 
first  issued  for  a  chapter  in  Hampden  county,  was  signed  by 
Andrew  Sigourney,  Grand  High  Priest  of  the  Grand  Royal  Arch 
chapter.  The  charter  members  were  Rev.  Dr.  Samuel  Osgood, 
for  many  years  pastor  of  the  First  Congregational  church  in 
Springfield,  Roswell  Lee,  commandant  at  the  United  States 
armory,  Warren  Church,  John  B.  Kirkham,  Alexander  Stocking, 
Gideon  Burt,  jr.,  Arnold  Jenckes,  Joseph  Bucklew,  Thomas 
Knight  and  AVilliam  Sizer. 

Dr.  Osgood  was  elected  the  first  high  priest  and  held  the 
office  two  years,  when  he  was  elected  chaplain,  an  office  he  filled 
with  zeal  for  a  period  of  twenty-seven  years,  from  1819  to  1847. 
Col.  Roswell  Lee  was  the  second  high  priest  and  he  served  five 
years  with  an  interim  of  one  year. 

Ocran  Dickenson,  than  whom  no  Mason  was  more  zealous, 
served  the  chapter  as  high  priest  twenty-two  years,  first  from 
1832  to  1846,  in  1848,  1851,  1852,  and  1853,  1857,  1858  and  1859. 
Joseph  Carew,  the  first  treasurer  of  the  chapter,  served  fourteen 
years,  and  his  successor  in  office,  Charles  Stearns,  served  sixteen 
years.  Thus  it  will  be  seen  that  in  the  early  days  of  Masonry  in 
the  county  it  was  customary  to  give  the  officers  as  many  terms  as 

(      475      ) 


OL'R  COl'NTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

they  would  accept,  and  that  the  workers  did  not  drop  out  of  har- 
ness with  passing  the  chairs. 

In  1817,  the  first  year  of  its  life,  and  while  working  under 
dispensation,  the  chapter  conferred  the  degrees  on  twenty-six 
candidates.  In  1818  thirteen  w'ere  made  Royal  Arch  Masons  in 
the  chapter.  From  1827  to  1847,  or  during  the  tAventy  years  of 
Masonic  trials,  the  chapter  conferred  degrees  on  only  three  can- 
didates. 

It  was  not  until  1863  that  the  second  chapter  was  instituted 
in  the  county.  Morning  Star  chapter  had  exclusive  jurisdiction 
over  the  capitular  work  in  the  county  and  when  the  petition  for 
a  charter  for  Mount  Holyoke  chapter  at  Holyoke  was  referred  to 
the  old  chapter  by  the  Grand  chapter.  Morning  Star  voted  in 
favor  of  it.  Accordingly  in  1865  the  charter  issued.  The  new 
chapter  started  oft'  wdth  twenty-one  members,  and  its  present 
membership  is  210.  Since  its  institution  it  has  made  396  Roj^al 
Arch  Masons.  Its  first  meeting  was  held  June  13.  1865.  Seven- 
teen companions  have  been  elected  to  preside  over  the  chapter  as 
high  priests. 

Six  years  later,  in  1871.  Evening  Star  chapter  was  instituted 
in  Westfield,  twenty  members  of  Morning  Star  chapter  with- 
drawing from  the  mother  chapter  to  form  the  new.  The  charter 
bears  the  date  of  June  5,  1871.  Only  six  of  the  charter  members 
are  living.  The  present  membership  is  138.  Since  its  institu- 
tion the  chapter  has  exalted  202  companions.  Unity  chapter  was 
instituted  in  Chicopee  Falls  four  years  later.  The  year  follow- 
ing the  institution  of  Mount  Holyoke  chapter,  in  1864,  Hampden 
chapter  was  instituted  in  Palmer. 

Springfield  Council  Royal  and  Select  Masons  was  instituted 
in  1818,  one  year  after  Morning  Star  chapter  Royal  Arch 
IMasons.  The  charter  bears  date  of  May  28,  1818,  and  is 
signed  with  the  name  of  Jeremy  L.  Cross,  Deputy  Grand 
Puissant.  It  was  issued  under  authority  of  the  Northern 
Masonic  jurisdiction  of  North  America  at  Baltimore,  Md.  The 
charter  authorized  Roswell  Lee  to  act  as  the  first  Thrice  Illus- 
trious Deputy  Grand  Master,  John  Newbury  Illustrious  Deputy 
Grand  Master,  and  Warren  Church  Principal  Conductor  of  work. 

(      476      ) 


FREE  MASONRY 

The  council  has  a  membership  approaching  500,  and  has  con- 
ferred tlie  degrees  upon  over  800. 

Holyoke  council  was  the  second  instituted  in  the  county. 
This  council  was  organized  May  27,  1873,  and  its  charter  was 
granted  January  7,  1874.  The  council  started  with  twenty-six 
charter  members.  George  Herbert  Snnth  was  appointed  first 
Thrice  Illustrious  Master,  William  Sunnier  Perkins  first  Deputy 
Master  and  AVilliani  (Jrover  first  Principal  Conductor.  The 
first  two  are  still  living.  In  1895,  twenty-four  members  with- 
drew to  form  AVilliam  Parsons  council  in  Northampton.  The 
present  membership  is  135. 

Washington  council  was  organized  in  Palmer  the  same  year 
as  Holyoke  council.  A.  Brysoii  was  the  first  Thrice  Illustrious 
Master,  and  six  other  members  have  held  this  high  position. 

Springfield  Commandery  Knights  Templar  is  the  only  coin- 
mandery  in  the  county.  Its  present  membership  is  more  than 
six  hundred  and  it  has  numbered  among  its  members  many  of 
the  leading  citizens  of  the  county.  The  movement  for  its  organi- 
zation was  set  on  foot  in  the  fall  of  1825,  there  being  a  number 
of  Knights  in  Springfield  and  vicinity  who  had  received  their 
knighthood  in  New  York  or  Boston.  On  February  22,  1826,  the 
movement  took  shape,  and  a  meeting  was  held  in  the  old  Masonic 
hall  M^hich  stood  at  the  corner  of  Main  and  State  streets  in 
Springfield,  the  site  of  the  present  Masonic  temple.  At  this 
meeting  it  was  decided  to  petition  the  Grand  Encampment  for  a 
charter.  A  petition  already  prepared  was  thereupon  signed  by 
Koswell  Lee,  Henry  Dwight,  Alpheus  Nettleton,  John  B.  Kirk- 
ham,  Abiram  Morgan,  Major  Goodsell,  Arnold  Jenckes,  Amasa 
Holcomb  and  Hezekiah  Cady. 

Village  Encampment  of  Greenwich,  having  jurisdiction  ovei* 
the  territory  in  which  the  new  encampment  desired  to  be  created, 
was  requested  to  sanction  the  granting  of  a  charter  and  its  sanc- 
tion was  given.  In  June  following  the  charter  was  granted,  but 
for  some  reason,  unknown  to  the  present  generation  of  Knights 
Templar,  the  charter  was  not  signed  until  June  19,  1830.  four 
years  later.  However,  the  delay  in  signing  the  charter  did  not 
operate  to  the  disadvantage  of  the  new^  organization,  which  has 

(      477      ) 


1 


i 


Daniel  Reynolds 
A  prominent  Mason  from  1826  till  his  death.    Past  Commander  in  1866 


FREE  MASONRY 

always  ranked  as  of  June  19,  1826.  Its  relative  position  in  order 
of  precedence  was  retained  -when  the  change  was  made  from  en- 
campments to  commanderies  of  Knights  Templar. 

Henry  Dwight  was  the  first  Eminent  Commander  of  the  com- 
mandery  or  encampment.  The  commandery  flourished  until  1831, 
when  in  common  with  JNIasonic  bodies  it  felt  the  anti-Masonic 
sentiment  so  strongly  that  it  apparently  abandoned  work.  From 
January  5,  1831,  until  July  4,  1851,  the  records  are  blank. 
In  1851,  Sirs  James  \Y.  Crooks,  John  B.  Kirkham,  Ocran  Dickin- 
son, Daniel  Keynolds,  Amos  Call  and  James  H.  Call  succeeded  in 
reviving  interest  in  the  work,  and  from  that  date  in  July  when 
the  first  meeting  for  twenty  years  appears  to  have  been  held,  the 
interest  in  the  knightly  degrees  has  never  flagged.  But  it  was 
in  1861,  when  the  late  Judge  W.  S.  Shurtleff  was  elected  Emi- 
nent Commander,  that  the  commandery  took  up  the  work  with 
■enthusiasm,  his  incumbency  of  the  high  office  marking  an  epoch 
in  the  history  of  the  commandery. 

It  was  not  until  1866  that  the  Scottish  Kites  degrees  were 
conferred  in  Hampden  county.  AYith  so  many  enthusiastic 
Masons  it  was  but  natural  that  several  should  seek  for  added 
Masonic  light  in  the  higher  degrees  as  conferred  in  the  Scottish 
Kites  bodies.  Twelve  32d  degree  Masons  secured  a  dispensation 
to  form  a  lodge  of  Perfection  and  confer  the  fourth  to  fourteenth 
degrees  inclusive,  and  the  first  meeting  under  this  permission 
was  held  February  1,  1866.  The  following  month  three  candi- 
dates were  given  degrees  in  the  body.  The  first  Thrice  Potent 
Grand  Master  was  "\V.  H.  Spooner.  The  lodge  has  a  member- 
ship of  more  than  200.  The  charter,  which  was  dated  May  18, 
1866,  was  destroyed  by  the  fire  in  the  Masonic  home  in  the  Massa- 
chusetts Mutual  Life  Insurance  building  in  1891, 

Massasoit  Council  Princes  of  Jerusalem,  which  confers  the 
fifteenth  and  sixteenth  ineffable  degrees,  was  formed  in  Spring- 
field by  eight  32d  degree  Masons,  who  met  in  the  fall  of  1867  and 
petitioned  for  a  charter.  The  first  meeting  under  a  dispensa- 
tion granted  then  was  held  January  8,  1868.  The  charter  which 
was  granted  by  the  Supreme  council  of  the  33d  degree  of  the 
Northern  jurisdiction  of  the  United  States  was   dated  May  19, 

(      479      ) 


(Teorge  W.  Ray 


FREE  MASONRY 

1868.  This  was  lost  in  the  tire  of  February  9,  1891.  The  coun- 
cil has  been  prosperous  since  its  organization  and  now  has  over 
100  members.  The  late  Albert  E.  Foth  was  the  first  Most 
Equitable  Sovereign  Prince  Grand  Master. 

The  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  degrees  of  the  Ancient  and 
Accepted  Scottish  Rite,  N.  M.  J.  U.  S.  A.  are  conferred  in 
Springfield  chapter  of  Rose  Croix.  This  chapter  was  instituted 
in  1894,  its  charter  being  granted  September  20  of  that  year.  Ed- 
mund P.  Kendrick,  a  33d  degree  Mason,  is  at  the  head  of  this 
chapter. 

There  are  in  the  county  a  large  number  of  Masons  who  have 
received  the  32d  degree,  and  a  smaller  number  who  have  received 
the  high  Masonic  honor  of  the  33d  degree,  a  degree  conferred  for 
special  zeal  or  signal  service  for  the  institution  of  Masonry,  and 
accordingly  prized  as  the  summit  of  Masonry. 

In  the  early  days  of  Masonry  in  the  county  the  meetings 
were  held  in  the  day  time.  Usually  the  full  of  the  moon  was 
selected  as  the  time  of  meeting,  that  the  members  who  came  from 
a  distance  could  have  its  light  to  guide  them  on  their  way  home 
after  the  meeting.  Probably  the  first  evening  meeting  was  held 
in  Springfield,  but  then  9  o'clock  was  set  as  the  hour  for  closing 
the  lodge  and  the  member  who  lingered  w'as  fined,  the  fine  going 
into  the  treasury  of  the  lodge. 

Another  old  custom  was  the  charging  of  a  fee  for  attend- 
ance. This  method  was  employed  to  raise  the  funds  necessary 
for  the  support  of  the  lodge  and  its  charities.  After  the  adop- 
tion of  the  plan  of  annual  dues,  in  many  of  the  lodges  visitors 
were  required  to  pay  a  small  fee. 

Under  the  present  system  regular  annual  dues  are  paid  by 
the  members,  excepting  that  in  several  of  the  bodies  the  retiring 
presiding  officer  is  made  an  honorary  member  and  exempt  from 
future  pajanent  of  dues.  Some  of  the  bodies  also  provide  that 
members  who  have  for  a  term  of  thirty  years  paid  dues  shall 
thereafter  be  exempt  from  payment. 

The  charity  disbursed  by  the  Masonic  bodies  is  wide,  but  no 
record  of  it  is  written,  the  scriptural  injunction  "Let  not  your 
right  hand  know  what  the  left  doeth,"  being  literally  carried  out 
in  this  connection. 

31-1  (      481      ) 


01 R  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

A  lasting  inoiuinient  to  the  society  is  the  beautiful  Masonic 
temple  which  graces  the  corner  of  Main  and  State  streets  in 
Springfield.  On  February  9,  1891,  the  rooms  occupied  by  the 
various  Masonic  bodies  in  the  INIassachusetts  Mutual  Life  Insur- 
ance company  building  on  Main  street  were  partially  destroyed 
by  fire.  The  loss  included  many  of  the  records,  the  parapher- 
nalia and  other  property  of  the  bodies.  The  loss  suggested  the 
idea  of  a  Masonic  temple  and  steps  were  taken  at  once  to  this  end. 
The  estimated  expense  of  the  building  was  $125,000.  The  build- 
ing cost  $72,000.  The  corner-stone  was  laid  by  the  Grand  lodge 
October  21,  1892.  The  building  fronts  105  feet  on  Main  street 
and  68  feet  on  State  street,  and  is  five  stories  high.  Beside  two 
lodge  rooms,  an  armory,  ample  ante-rooms  and  banquet  hall  with 
kitchen  annexed,  there  are  club  rooms  occupied  by  the  Masonic 
club,  an  organization  supported  by  the  several  bodies. 


ODD  FELLOWSHIP' 

On  April  26,  1819,  in  the  monumental  city  of  our  land,  five 
men  gathered  in  the  upper  chamber  of  a  tavern  now  known  as 
the  "Seven  Stars,"  and  there  and  then  with  a  few  preliminary 
arrangements  the  era  of  American  Odd  Fellowship  had  its  be- 
ginning. The  lodge  they  organized  was  known  as  Washington 
lodge,  No.  1,  with  Thomas  Wildey  as  noble  grand  and  John 
Welch  as  vice-grand.  A  charter  was  received  Oct.  23,  1819, 
from  the  Duke  of  York's  lodge  in  the  county  of  Lancaster,  Eng- 
land. On  Feb.  7,  1821,  a  meeting  of  the  committee  of  past 
grands  was  held  to  consider  the  organization  of  a  Grand  lodge, 
and  Washington  lodge  was  requested  to  surrender  its  charter. 
This  was  done  on  Feb.  22,  1821,  and  the  organization  of  the 
Grand  lodge  was  effected  Feb.  9,  1822,  with  Thomas  AVildey, 
grand  master ;  John  P.  Entwistle,  deputy  grand  master ;  W.  S. 
Couth,  grand  warden,  and  John  AVelch,  grand  secretary. 

'Compiled  by  Charles  L.  Young,  Past  Grand  Master,  from  records  of  the 
order  .and  from  data  furnished  by  officers  of  subordinate  lodges  in  Hampden 
county.  Col.  Young's  work  has  been  largely  that  of  collation  and  compilation, 
and  in  many  cases  he  has  been  supplied  with  meager  data. 

(      482      ) 


ODD  FELLOWSHIP 

The  grand  lodge  of  the  United  States  was  formed  Jan.  15, 
1825,  from  the  Grand  lodges  of  Maryland,  Massachusetts,  New 
York  and  Pennsylvania,  and  the  first  officers  were  chosen  as  fol- 
lows :  Thomas  Wildey,  grand  master ;  John  AYelch,  deputy 
grand  master;  "William  Williams,  grand  secretary.  At  the  an- 
nual convention,  April  25,  1826,  the  titles  of  officers  were 
changed  to  grand  sire  and  deputy  grand  sire. 

The  numerical  strength  and  condition  of  the  order  of  Odd 
Fellows  on  December  31,  1900,  was  as  follows:  Sovereign  Grand 
lodge,  1:  Quasi  Independent  Grand  lodges  (Australasia,  Den- 
mark, Germany,  Netherlands,  Sweden  and  Switzerland)  6; 
Grand  lodges,  66 ;  Grand  encampments,  55 ;  Subordinate  lodges, 
12,347 ;  Subordinate  encampments,  2,683 ;  lodge  members,  944,- 
372  ;  encampment  members,  135,209  ;  Rebekah  lodges,  5,605  ;  Re- 
bekah  lodge  members,  351,526.  In  the  year  1900  there  was  ex- 
pended for  relief  the  aggregate  sum  of  $8,989,063.52, 

The  Grand  lodge  of  Massachusetts  was  instituted  June  11, 
1823,  by  Thomas  Wildey,  then  grand  master  but  later  grand  sire, 
in  the  city  of  Boston.  The  first  officers  of  the  grand  lodge  were: 
Daniel  Hersey,  grand  master;  Henry  Solomon,  deputy  grand 
master ;  James  B.  Barnes,  grand  warden ;  William  Bishop,  grand 
secretary. 

For  a  time  prosperity  seemed  to  come  from  every  direction 
until  the  legislature  passed  a  law  making  it  a  penal  offense  for 
any  person  to  ' '  administer  or  take  an  oath,  affirmation  or  obliga- 
tion in  the  nature  of  an  oath."  The  Grand  lodge  of  the  United 
States,  in  order  to  assist  the  brethren  out  of  these  legal  difficul- 
ties, adopted  a  resolution  to  the  effect  "that  so  long  as  the  law 
of  Massachusetts  relating  to  illegal  oaths  remains  in  force  the 
lodges  of  Massachusetts  be  authorized  to  admit  members,  confer 
degrees  and  install  officers  on  the  pledge  of  honor  and  that  the 
oath  be  dispensed  with." 

In  1883  the  charter  of  the  Grand  lodge  was  reclaimed  and 
the  subordinate  lodges  reported  directly  to  the  Grand  lodge  of 
the  United  States.  On  December  23,  1841,  the  charter  was  re- 
stored, the  Grand  lodge  was  re-established  and  the  following  offi- 
cers were  installed :       Daniel  Hersey,  grand    master ;    Thomas 

(      483      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

Barr,  deputy  grand  master ;  Aaron  Andrews,  grand  warden ;  Al- 
bert Guild,  grand  secretary  and  treasurer. 

The  present  membership  of  the  Massachusetts  Grand  lodge 
is  52,781.       There  was  expended  for  relief  in  1901,  $118,269.17. 

Grand  Encaynpment. — In  Massachusetts  the  work  of  the 
Encampment  branch  began  before  the  ifastitution  of  this  Grand 
body,  and  five  encampments— Massasoit,  No.  1,  Tri-Mount,  No. 
2,  Menotomy,  No.  3,  Monomake,  No.  4,  and  Bunker  Hill,  No.  5— 
were  working  under  dispensations  from  the  Grand  lodge  of  the 
United  States  granted  in  1843.  Members  of  all  these  encamp- 
ments joined  in  the  petition  for  a  charter  for  a  Grand  encamp- 
ment in  Massachusetts ;  and  on  March  22,  1844,  they  met  at  Odd 
Fellows  hall,  223  Washington  street,  at  3  p.  m.,  for  the  purpose 
of  institution. 

Those  named  in  the  record  as  being  present  were  P.  C.  P. 
Daniel  Hersey,  P.  C.  P.  Hezekiah  Prince,  and  P.  H.  P.  Robert  L. 
Bobbins  of  Massasoit,  No.  1,  P.C.P.  Edward  Tyler  of  Tri-Mount, 
No.  2,  P.  C.  P.  Daniel  Dodge  and  P.  H.  P.  Josiah  C.  Waldo  of 
Menotomy,  No.  3,  P.  C.  P.  Thomas  Barr  and  P.  H.  P.  James  M. 
Stone  of  Monomake,  No.  4,  and  P.  C.  P.  Samuel  R.  Slack  and  P. 
H.  P.  John  S.  Ladd  of  Bunker  Hill,  No.  5,  together  with  a  num- 
ber of  R.  P.  D.  members. 

The  dispensation  from  the  Grand  lodge  of  the  United  States 
having  been  read,  the  R.  W.  D.  D.  G.  Sire  Albert  Guild  an- 
nounced the  petitioners  present  a  legally  constituted  Grand  en- 
campment. 

The  following  officers  Avere  then  elected :  Daniel  Hersey, 
grand  chief  patriarch;  Echvard  Tyler,  grand  high  priest; 
Thomas  Barr,  grand  senior  warden  ;  Samuel  Slack,  grand  scribe ; 
Hezekiah  Prince,  grand  treasurer;  John  S.  Ladd,  grand  junior 
warden. 

The  grand  patriarch  appointed  James  M.  Stone,  grand  sen- 
tinel, who  was  installed.  The  Grand  encampment  was  then 
closed  upon  the  Royal  Purple  degree  and  opened  on  the  Grand 
encampment  degree,  in  which  the  members  were  instructed.  The 
meeting  was  then  adjourned  till  evening,  opening  in  the  Royal 
Purple  degree.     It  was  ordered  that  none  but  P.  C.  P.'s  and  P. 

(      484      ) 


ODD  FELLOWSHIP 

H.  P.'s  be  admitted  to  membership  until  further  instructions 
from  the  Grand  lodge  of  the  United  States ;  that  the  grand  treas- 
urer be  a  committee  to  procure  the  use  of  Odd  Fellows  hall;  that 
the  subordinate  encampments  be  requested  to  make  up  returns 
of  their  work  to  date,  and  forward  the  same  to  the  R.  W.  D.  D.  G. 
sire,  and  that  a  committee  of  three  be  appointed  to  procure  a 
seal.  The  meeting  then  adjourned  to  March  29,  and  from  that 
date  to  April  23,  at  which  meetings  a  constitution  and  by-laws 
were  adopted  and  a  committee  for  procuring  a  form  of  charter 
for  subordinate  encampments  was  appointed.  Massachusetts 
has  subordinate  encampments  with  a  total  membership  of  12,000. 

The  Rebekah  State  Assembly  of  Massachusetts  was  insti- 
tuted in  Friendship  hall.  Odd  Fellows  building,  515  Tremont 
street,  Boston,  Dec.  14,  1898,  by  Alfred  S.  Pinkerton,  grand  sire. 
He  was  assisted  by  William  F.  Dusseault,  John  U.  Perkins,  Geo. 
H.  Fuller,  J.  Lawrence  Martin,  Edwin  L.  Pillsbury,  John  Cork- 
hill,  Austin  S.  Estey,  William  M.  Webber  and   Harvey   Clark, 

There  were  petitioners  from  84  lodges. 

The  first  officers  were:  President,  Mary  E.  Nevins;  vice- 
president,  Esther  H.  Faunce;  warden,  Clara  E.  Clark;  secretary, 
Sarah  A.  Barry;  treasurer,  Elmina  P.  Brown.  The  appointed 
officers  were  :  Marshal,  Annali  L.  Batchelder ;  conductor,  Jean- 
ette  Dunham ;  chaplain,  Elsie  L.  Robinson ;  inside  guardian, 
Harriet  I.  Hayward ;  outside  guardian,  Florence  Hurn. 

SUBORDINATE  LODGES,  I.  0.  O.  F. 

Hampden  Lodge,  No.  27. — Hampden  lodge  was  instituted 
February  7,  1844,  with  Addison  Ware,  James  Henry,  James  M. 
Thompson,  Josiah  Hunt,  Albert  C.  Cole,  Thomas  Hassard,  jr.,  as 
charter  members,  all  of  whom  are  deceased.  Present  member- 
ship, 725.  This  is  the  oldest  subordinate  lodge  in  Springfield, 
and  is  naturally  regarded  as  the  mother  of  the  subordinate 
lodges.  During  the  dark  days  of  Odd  Fellowship,  when  the 
public  maligned  and  abused  the  order,  when  it  was  loss  of  repu- 
tation and  loss  of  business  to  be  known  as  a  member  of  any 
secret  society,  when  lodges  were  mobbed,  if  openly  approved,  and 
members  were  assaulted  because  faithful  to  their  convictions,  it 

(      485      ) 


Eliphalet  Trask 


ODD  FELLOWSHIP 

was  then  that  a  few  of  Hampden's  members  crept  closer  together 
in  their  bond  of  unity,  and  legitimately  fought  the  forces  of  per- 
secution until  honor  was  redeemed  and  reputation  made  good. 
To  Hampden  alone  belongs  the  honor  and  glory  of  making  and 
preserving  Springfield  a  centre  of  Odd  Fellowship. 

The  growth  of  the  Order  since  the  tide  of  opposition  has 
turned  is  phenomenal.  Hampden's  membership  has  been  taken 
from  every  department  of  business  and  from  Springfield's  best 
society.  Instead  of  being  a  reproach  to  belong  to  the  order  it  is 
now  considered  a  reliable  endorsement  of  good  character,  for  all 
the  virtues  that  Odd  Fellowship  teaches  are  worthy  of  acquisi- 
tion. It  has  done  a  good  part  in  maintaining  Springfield's  repu- 
tation as  being  a  noted  center  for  skill  and  fine  work  in  both 
ritualistic  and  moral  Odd  Fellowship. 

The  present  elective  officers  of  the  lodge  are :  N.  G.,  Alvin 
E.  Richmond;  V.  G.,  William  F.  Schrader;  Sec'y.,  William  E. 
Sanderson;  Treas.,  M.  M.  Kendall;  F.  Sec'y.,  George  F,  Amidon. 

De  Soto  Lodge,  No.  155,  was  instituted  ]\Iarch  9,  1871,  with. 
seven  charter  members.  Its  membership  January  1,  1902,  was 
626.  De  Soto  rapidly  developed  skill  and  dexterity  in  manag- 
ing organizations  and  a  taste  for  artistic  decorative  work.  The 
lodge  purchased  an  elegant  paraphernalia  and  also  gave  its  de- 
gree staff  almost  unlimited  use  of  the  funds.  At  this  time  the 
reputation  of  De  Soto's  work  was  extending.  From  some  source 
it  had  reached  the  Grand  Master's  ear  that  De  Soto  was  spend- 
ing her  funds  recklessly.  He  therefore  notified  her  that  he 
would  make  her  an  of^cial  visit  on  a  certain  date  in  the  future. 
De  Soto  utilized  the  occasion  by  inviting  Grand  Sire  White,  of 
Rochester,  N.  Y.,  Past  Grand  Sire  Nicholson,  of  Philadelphia, 
Pa.,  Grand  Representative  Geary  of  Baltimore,  Md.,  and  other 
prominent  Odd  Fellows  to  be  her  guests  on  this  occasion.  They 
all  accepted  the  invitation  and  were  present  to  witness  the  work. 
After  the  guests  had  complimented  the  lodge  by  their  approval 
of  the  degree  work  the  Grand  Master  said  he  had  made  his  visit 
with  the  expectation  of  disapproving  the  work,  but  its  beauty 
had  completely  conquered  his  objection,  and  he  advised  De  Soto 
to  follow  the  motto  on  their  banner,  "Quod  Facimus,  Bene  Facia- 
mus"  (What  is  worth  doing  is  worth  doing  well). 

(      487      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

De  Soto  lodge  has  twice  been  honored  by  the  election  of  a 
grand  master  from  her  membership,  Dr.  W.  "W.  Gardner  in  1880, 
and  Henry  Denver  in  1890.  She  has  also  had  one  of  her  mem- 
bers on  the  board  of  trustees  of  the  Odd  Fellows  home,  F.  A. 
Barbour  having  held  that  office  since  1895,  and  is  now  superin- 
tendent of  that  institution,  having  been  appointed  to  take  charge 
on  the  first  of  April,  1901. 

The  present  elective  officers  are :  N.  G.,  Fred  H.  Weston ; 
V.  G.,  E.  F.  AVade ;  Sec,  L.  W.  White ;  Fin.  Sec,  N.  A.  Holland ; 
Treas.,  F.  R.  Sistare. 

Amity  Lodge,  No.  172,  was  instituted  September  15,  1875. 
The  following  were  the  charter  members :  Fred  A.  Burt,  F.  A. 
Norway,  H.  C.  Burdick,  S.  H.  Pratt,  E.  R.  S.  Stickney,  W.  D. 
Davis,  E.  F.  Pratt,  J.  H.  Lewis,  0.  W.  Pratt,  Willard  Grover,  S. 
C.  Couch,  L.  D.  Robinson  and  R.  H.  Parker.  At  the  first  meet- 
ing of  the  lodge  G.  F.  Farmer  from  De  Soto  lodge,  and  J.  H. 
Haskins,  G.  H.  Lapham,  C.  H.  Emerson  and  S.  B.  Sexton  from 
Hampden  lodge,  were  admitted  by  card. 

The  lodge  was  instituted  by  John  U.  Perkins,  grand  master, 
assisted  by  the  board  of  grand  officers. 

The  lodge  began  its  meetings  in  the  old  Masonic  hall  on 
State  street,  and  in  June,  1876,  removed  to  a  hall  over  the  Third 
National  bank,  where  it  remained  until  1882,  afterward  meeting 
for  a  time  in  the  old  hall  of  Hampden  lodge,  where  De  Soto  lodge 
still  meets.  When  Hampden  lodge  furnished  its  new  hall  in  the 
old  court  house,  now  known  as  Odd  Fellows'  hall,  Amity  lodge 
began  to  meet  there,  and  'still  continues  to  occupy  Odd  Fellows ' 
hall. 

The  first  elective  officers  of  the  lodge  were :  N.  G.,  Fred  A. 
Norway;  V.  G.,  J.  H.  Haskins;  Secy.,  J.  H.  Lewis;  Pin.  Secy., 
G.  H.  Farmer;  Treas.,  L.  D.  Robinson.  At  the  last  meeting  in 
November,  F.  A.  Norway  resigned,  and  J.  H.  Haskins  was  elected 
noble  grand  for  the  remainder  of  his  term,  this  being  done  for 
the  purpose  of  having  a  representative  in  the  Grand  lodge. 

William  H.  Mullen  became  a  member  May  9,  1877,  and  was 
killed  in  December  of  the  same  year,  in  San  Francisco,  by  falling 
from  the  veranda  of  a  hotel,  and,  being  unknown,  the  body  was 

(      488      ) 


ODD  FELLOWSHIP 

about  to  be  buried  by  the  city  when  his  traveling  card  from  Am- 
ity lodge  was  discovered.  The  lodge  was  notified  and  the  re- 
mains brought  back  to  Springfield  and  buried  with  the  honors 
of  the  order. 

In  1886  six  members  withdrew  and  organized  Tekoa  lodge  at 
West  Springfield. 

The  present  membership  numbers  410.  The  officers  are: 
N.  G.,  F.  H.  Haskins:  V.  G.,  Geo.  H.  Coburn ;  Secy.,  H.  E. 
Corry;  treasurer,  W.  A.  Hatch. 

Bay  Path  Lodge,  No.  234.— In  the  autumn  of  1895,  a  senti- 
ment prevailed  among  a  few  Odd  Fellows  who  resided  in  Spring- 
field, "but  holding  membership  elsewhere,"  that  there  was  room 
enough  for  another  lodge  in  our  beautiful  city.  Accordingly  a 
petition  was  drawn  up  and  signed  by  eighteen  Odd  Fellows  (not 
one  of  whom  was  a  member  of  either  of  the  lodges  in  our  city). 
This  petition  was  sent  to  the  Grand  lodge,  asking  for  a  charter, 
which  was  duly  granted.  A  charter  list  of  27  card  members  and 
184  initiates  was  obtained. 

The  Grand  Lodge  officers  were  present  March  18,  1896,  and 
instituted  Bay  Path  lodge  in  the  hall  on  Worthington  street.  The 
following  officers  were  elected  and  installed  into  their  respective 
offices  by  the  grand  officers :  Noble  Grand,  George  T.  Allen ; 
vice  grand,  Charles  H.  Graves ;  R.  Secy.,  Alonzo  T.  Hussey ;  Fin. 
Secy.,  Charles  H.  Edwards ;  Treas.,  Ernest  L.  Thompson.  The 
harmony  that  existed  from  the  time  this  lodge  started  until  the 
present  time  has  been  true.  At  the  very  beginning  Hampden 
lodge  desired  the  new  lodge  to  start  on  a  foundation  that  would 
stand,  and  a  beautiful  Holy  Bible  was  presented  to  Bay  Path 
lodge. 

Permission  was  granted  by  the  Grand  lodge  to  work  the 
three  degrees  in  one  evening,  March  19.  The  first  degree  was 
worked  by  Amity  lodge,  No.  172,  with  23  men  on  161  candidates, 
in  Hampden  lodge  hall.  The  second  degree  was  worked  by  Te- 
koa lodge  of  AYest  Springfield,  by  21  men  on  161  candidates.  The 
third  degree  was  worked  by  Hampden  lodge  on  160  candidates. 
The  work  has  been  carried  on  by  Bay  Path  lodge  in  a  very  credit- 
able manner  since  its  organization.      During  the  Spanish- Amer- 

(      489      ) 


OUK  COUMY  AXD  ITS  PEOPLE 

ican  war  Bay  Path  lod^^e  sent  eight  to  the  front,  four  out  of  the 
number  having  died,  viz. :  Bros.  Harry  G.  Vesper,  Paul  P.  Ves- 
per, Thomas  C.  Boone  and  Henry  C.  Bowen.  Bay  Path  lodge 
has  lost  11  by  death  since  its  organization.  The  lodge  changed 
its  location  on  September  1,  1899,  from  its  Worthington  street 
hall  to  the  G.  A.  R.  ]\Iemorial  building.  Court  street.  Great  in- 
terest is  taken  by  the  members  in  the  work  as  is  evidenced  by  the 
large  numbers  who  attend  the  meetings  each  week.  The  work 
is  still  progressing.  (Ti-eat  efforts  are  being  put  forth  to  im- 
prove the  work.  Since  coming  into  its  new  hall  the  brothers  and 
officers  are  more  enthusiastic,  and  one  and  all  are  striving  to  gain 
the  topmost  round  of  perfection. 

The  present  membership  to  January   1,   1902,   is   over  300. 

Bay  Path  lodge  has  connected  with  it  an  association,  knoMm 
as  Bay  Path  Instant  Relief  association.  It  is  simply  for  its  own 
members.  When  a  brother  dies,  instead  of  waiting  for  a  regu- 
lar meeting,  the  treasurer  immediately  draws  a  check  and  pays 
over  to  the  proper  persons. 

The  present  officers  are :  N.  G.,  S.  L.  Stanley ;  V.  G.,  B.  D. 
Nash ;  Secy.,  A.  T.  Hussey ;  Treas.,  AY.  A.  Ody ;  Per.  Secy.,  H.  R. 
Hooper. 

Agaicam  Encampment,  No.  25,  was  instituted  at  Springfield 
on  January  6,  1847,  with  the  following  as  charter  members : 
James  M.  Thompson,  George  W.  Wilson,  Addison  Ware,  George 
Smith,  William  Hankerson,  John  F.  Comstock,  A.  A.  Upson, 
John  Grant,  Thomas  A.  Lewis,  Benjamin  K.  Bliss.  Samuel  D. 
Holman,  Jasper  R.  Rand,  Lyman  Lewis,  Charles  Diekerman  and 
Henry  F.  Gardner. 

Of  these  fifteen  charter  members  but  one  is  now  living;  our 
venerable  and  worthy  brother  and  patriarch,  George  Smith. 

The  first  elective  officers  installed  into  office  were  James 
M.  Thompson,  C.  P. :  John  F.  Comstock,  H.  P. ;  Addison  Ware, 
S.  W. :  George  W.  Wilson,  S. ;  Samuel  D.  Holman,  T.,  and  Wil- 
liam Hankerson,  J.  W. 

From  that  time  until  the  present,  the  growth  of  Agawam  eu- 
campraent  has  been  steady  and  continuous ;  and  from  a  member- 
ship of  thirty-two,  at  its  beginning,  it  has  at  this  time  415  mem- 

(      490      ) 


ODD  FELLO^ySHIP 

hers  ill  good  standing.  In  financial  and  numerical  strength  it 
ranks  the  second  in  this  jurisdiction ;  while  its  reputation  for 
business  inanagement  and  conducting  its  degree  ^vork  is  second 
to  none. 

The  present  officers  are  F.  H.  Cooke.  C.  P. :  S.  L.  May,  S. 
AV. ;  Geo.  0.  Bartlett,  J.  W. ;  R.  B.  Hopkins,  H.  P. ;  E.  E.  Lean- 
der,  Scribe ;  W.  H.  Potter,  F.  Sec :  E.  W.  Lathrop,  Treas. 

Springfield  Encampment,  No.  82,  was  instituted  Friday, 
June  24,  1898,  in  Bay  Path  hall  on  Worthington  street,  bj'  Grand 
Patriarch  Charles  C.  Fuller,  assisted  by  the  board  of  grand  offi- 
cers. 

The  first  officers  of  the  encampment  were  C.  L.  Young, 
C.  P.;  C.  E.  Fisk,  S.  W. ;  Clarence  A.  Putney,  J.  W. ;  R.  E.  Pad- 
dock, H.  P. ;  C.  H.  Graves,  T. ;  M.  O.  Cowles,  R.  S. ;  J.  H.  For- 
sythe,  F.  S. 

After  the  institution,  supper  was  served  at  the  Cooley  hotel 
and  in  the  evening  under  the  escort  of  Canton  Chapin  the  officers 
repaired  to  Hampden  lodge  hall,  where  Agawani  encampment  by 
special  request  conferred  the  degree  upon  70  members. 

On  Friday,  August  26,  1898,  Cabot  encampment  of  Chicopee 
consolidated  with  Springfield  encampment,  the  ceremony  being 
performed  by  Grand  Patriarch  Charles  C.  Fuller.  Robert  E. 
Paddock  of  this  encampment  bears  the  honored  distinction  of  be- 
ing a  past  grand  patriarch. 

The  present  officers  are :  C.  P.,  A.  T.  Hussey :  S.  W.,  F.  T. 
Morton;  J.  W.,  E.  L.  Thompson;  H.  P.,  R.  E.  Paddock;  R.  S., 
M.  0.  Cowles :  F.  S.,  J.  H.  Forsythe ;  T.,  C.  H.  Graves. 

Canton  Chapin,  No.  64.  — On  the  evening  of  July  18.  1895, 
Canton  Chapin  No.  64,  Patriarchs  Militant,  Third  battalion. 
Third  regiment,  department  of  IMassachusetts,  was  instituted  by 
Department  Commander  General  Frank  Merrill  and  staff.  The 
officers  of  the  canton  were  mustered  in  by  INIajor  C.  H.  Rust,  as- 
sisted by  Major  D.  Maxwell  and  Captain  0.  G.  Nutting.  At  the 
institution  of  the  canton  Col.  W.  E.  Sanderson  was  installed  as 
commandant,  a  position  which  he  held  Avith  credit  to  himself  and 
honor  to  the  canton  for  four  successive  terms. 

In  1889,  owing  to  business  engagements,  he  refused  to  stand 
for  re-election.       Under  Col.  Sanderson's  able  leadership  and 

(      491      ) 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

wise  judicious  counsels  the  canton  prospered  and  made  itself  a 
power  that  was  felt  in  patriarchs  militant  circles,  ever  striving  to 
attain  all  that  was  noblest  and  best  in  this  branch  of  the  order. 
His  motto  was  "Onward."  Col.  Sanderson  was  ably  assisted 
in  his  effort  by  Chevaliers  C.  A.  Leander  and  G.  T.  Allen,  who 
were  mustered  in  as  lieutenant  and  ensign. 

Canton  Chapin's  membership  has  grown  steadily  since  its 
institution  and  now  numbers  240  Chevaliers  of  all  ranks. 

The  present  officers  are :  Commandant,  A.  E.  Richmond : 
Lieutenant,  David  Ross;  Ensign,  C.  H.  Cutler;  Clerk,  F.  R. 
Allen;  Accountant,  "VV.  0.  Bartlett. 

Canton  Spi'ingfield,  No.  23.— On  February  18,  1886,  Canton 
Springfield,  No.  10,  Patriarchs  Militant,  was  organized  as  a 
Grand  canton,  containing  three  component  parts,  by  General 
John  C.  Underwood.  The  first  officers  were :  Captains,  F.  A. 
Judd,  E.  W.  Lathrop,  T,  A.  Allen ;  Lieutenants,  J.  L.  Strong,  E. 
E.  Estes,  C.  H.  Rust ;  Ensigns,  W.  C.  Fielding,  C.  H.  Lewis,  W. 
H.  Potter;  Clerk,  James  S.  Ritchie;  Accountant,  W.  M.  Stevens. 

On  June  25,  1899,  the  Grand  canton  was  reduced  to  a  can- 
ton and  was  officered  as  follows :  Commandant,  George  F.  Ami- 
don  ;  Lieutenant,  Oliver  G.  Nutting ;  Ensign,  William  E.  Sander- 
son ;  Clerk,  James  S.  Ritchie ;  Accountant,  William  H.  Potter. 

The  present  membership  is  nearly  150.  Several  of  its  mem- 
bers have  been  honored  with  positions  of  trust:  Charles  L. 
Young,  colonel  of  the  3d  regiment ;  Francis  L.  Hosmer,  second 
lieutenant,  colonel  of  the  3d  regiment ;  Isaac  S.  Berry,  major  of 
the  2nd  Battalion  of  the  3d  regiment. 

The  present  officers  are :  Commandant,  George  A.  Barrus ; 
Lieutenant,  Edward  H.  Biggins;  Ensign,  Harry  W.  Stacy; 
Clerk,  Myron  O.  Cowles ;  Accountant,  William  H.  Potter. 

Morning  Star  Rehel^ah  Lodge,  No.  9,  was  instituted  March  8, 
1870,  with  18  charter  members,  Grand  INIaster  Samuel  B.  Krog- 
man  and  Grand  Secretary  Charles  D.  Cole  having  charge  of  the 
ceremonies. 

The  first  noble  grand  was  a  brother,  George  Smith,  who 
served  in  that  office  through  1870  and  1871,  and  was  elected  to 
that  position  for  the  term  of  1873.       For  seven  years  the  chair 

(      492      ) 


ODD  FELLOWSHIP 

of  noble  grand  was  filled  by  H.  C.  Burdiek,  F.  B.  Miller,  William 
Smith  and  Harrison  Johnson. 

The  first  lady  noble  grand  was  Mrs.  Harriet  S.  Heath,  who 
served  two  years,  1878-9.  Since  that  time  the  office  has  been 
filled  by  sisters. 

The  office  of  vice-grand  at  the  time  the  brothers  served  as 
noble  grand  was  filled  by  sisters.  The  first  officers  of  the  lodge 
were  George  Smith,  N.  G. ;  Mary  Hankerson,  V.  G. ;  Martha  A. 
Lee,  K.  S. ;  Angie  K.  Brown,  T. ;  Mary  M.  Lee,  F.  S. 

Three  of  the  charter  members  are  living  and  retain  member- 
ship in  the  lodge,  George  Smith  and  H.  M.  Wood  and  wife,  Mrs. 
Wood  being  one  of  the  past  vice-grands.  Some  of  the  officers 
have  served  for  years.  Sarah  Fernald,  elected  treasurer  for 
term  of  1872,  served  in  that  office  for  sixteen  years.  Ellen  C. 
Spear  was  elected  treasurer  for  the  term  of  1889  and  still  holds 
that  position.  Mary  G.  Merritt,  P.  N.  G.,  was  elected  financial 
secretary  for  term  of  1888,  and  has  been  serving  each  succeeding 
term.  Jeanette  Dunham,  P.  N.  G.,  is  serving  her  sixth  consecu- 
tive year  as  secretary.  The  lodge  has  been  honored  in  having 
two  of  its  members  officers  of  the  Massachusetts  Kebekah  conven- 
tions, sisters  Harriett  S.  Heath  and  Etta  G.  Garfield,  and  sister 
Jeanette  M.  Dunham  was  the  first  conductor  of  the  Rebekah  State 
assembly.  Past  Grand  masters  Dr.  W.  W,  Gardner  and  Henry 
Denver  were  also  members  of  the  lodge,  the  former  still  retaining 
his  membership.  The  grand  officers  of  the  state  have  favored 
the  lodge  many  times  by  visitations,  and  in  1888  the  lodge  was 
honored  by  a  visit  from  James  B.  Nicholson,  past  grand  sire. 

This  lodge  was  the  first  to  confer  the  work  in  the  beautified 
and  dramatized  form  and  received  and  did  confer  the  degree  not 
only  for  sister  lodges  but  for  sister  jurisdictions. 

The  present  membership  of  the  lodge  is  420.  The  officers 
for  1902  are:  Lilian  E.  Lee,  N.  G. ;  Mary  Kimball,  V.  G. ; 
Jeanette  M.  Dunham,  R.  S. ;  Ellen  C.  Spear,  T. ;  ]\Iary  G.  Merritt, 
F.  S. 

Lucy  Wehh  Hayes  Behel-ah  Lodge,  No.  126,  named  in  allu- 
sion to  the  wife  of  one  of  our  nation's  presidents,  was  instituted 
March  27,  1894,  by  Louis  A.  Cook,  grand  master.      The  charter 

(      493      ) 


Oi'R  COi'XTY  AXD   ITS  PEOPLE 

members  were  David  Maxwell,  P.  (J.;  Nellie  INI.  Maxwell,  P.  X. 
G.;  Grace  I.  Maxwell,  Etta  G.  Garfield,  P.  N.  G. :  Stedman  P. 
Garfield,  Hannah  E.  AVitt,  AVilliam  Terry,  P.  G. ;  Emilie  M. 
Terry,  P.  N.  G. ;  Frank  S.  Leonard,  P.  G. ;  Emma  V.  Leonard, 
James  R.  Farrel,  P.  G. ;  Ellen  Farrell,  Abbie  S.  Nichols,  P.  N. 
G.,  and  Charles  L.  Young,  P.  G.  M.  The  institution  took  place 
in  Hampden  hall.  On  the  night  of  the  ceremony  fifty-three 
members  were  admitted.  Later  on  the  meetings  were  held  in 
Bay  Path  lodge  hall  on  Worthington  street,  and  thence  moved 
to  Memorial  hall.  The  first  noble  grand  was  Emilie  F.  Terry. 
The  lodge  from  the  night  of  its  institution  has  been  prosperous 
and  its  present  membership  is  310.  Its  present  officers  are : 
N.  G.,  Louise  Dearstyne :  V.  G.,  Elizabeth  White ;  P.  N.  G.,  Nellie 
Sparks ;  Chaplain,  Elizabeth  Hart ;  Secy.,  Emma  V.  I^eonard ; 
F.  S.,  Lilla  Hodge;  Treas.,  Alice  Cooley. 

Woronoco  Lodge,  No.  74,  of  Westfield,  was  instituted  June 
23,  1845.  by  Albert  Guild,  grand  master,  assisted  by  Frederick 
N,  Nichols  as  grand  secretary  and  J.  D.  Kinsman  as  grand  war- 
den. The  charter  members  were  Albert  Clark,  Alfred  A.  Up- 
son, Robert  M.  Wilson,  Isaac  Stevens,  Samuel  D.  Allen,  John  F. 
Comstock,  W.  S.  Huntoon  and  Hamilton  F.  Ketchum.  The  first 
officers  were:  N.  G.,  Albert  Clark  ;  V.  G.,  Alfred  Upson  ;  S.,  Ham- 
ilton F.  Ketchum :  T..  William  S.  Huntoon. 

At  the  end  of  the  first  year  there  were  115  applications  for 
membership.  During  the  early  years  of  the  lodge  history,  oppo- 
sition arose  against  Odd  Fellowship,  and  speakers  were  brought 
to  Westfield  to  show  the  wickedness  of  the  order.  Prominent 
men,  such  as  Hon.  E.  B.  Gillett  and  Rev.  Mark  Trafton  and 
others,  were  assailed  for  being  members  of  such  a  bad  society. 
Dr.  Willis  of  Boston,  in  one  of  his  addresses  said  "That  it  would 
be  better  for  Westfield  if  the  town  were  in  ashes  than  that  there 
should  be  permitted  to  live  and  thrive  such  a  wicked  organiza- 
tion." It  was  said  that  those  who  came  to  scoff  remained  to 
pray  and  the  candidate  who  was  used  as  a  tool  is  now  and  has 
been  a  member  of  the  lodge  for  the  past  40  years.  Rev.  Mark 
Trafton  was  elected  a  member  of  congress.  Later  some  26  with- 
drew from  this  lodge  and  formed  Westfield  lodge.  No.  152.  The 
present  membership  221. 

(      494      ) 


ODD  FELLOWSHIP 

Wesifield  Lodge,  No.  152,  was  instituted  Feb.  3,  1870,  by 
Thomas  C.  Porter,  grand  master;  C'orlis  Wadleigh,  deputy  grand 
master :  C'has.  l).  Cole,  grand  secretary ;  Charles  P.  Haydeu, 
grand  treasurer,  and  A.  B.  Plimpton,  grand  warden.  The  num- 
ber of  charter  members  was  twenty-nine.  The  first  officers  were 
N.  G.,  George  Atwater;  V.  G.,  Wells  Noble:  Sec  y.,  M.  S.  Shep- 
ard;  Treas.,  George  Green;  Per.  Sec'yv  M.  S.  Shepard.  The 
lodge  has  been  very  successful  and  prompt  in  the  discharge  of  all 
its  obligations.  The  sick  have  been  cared  for,  the  widow  and  the 
orphan  have  had  cause  to  remember  that  husband  and  father  was 
an  Odd  Fellow.  The  lodge  has  been  honored  by  having  one  of 
its  members  on  the  grand  lodge  suite  in  the  person  of  Kobert  T. 
Sherman,  who  served  as  grand  guardian.  The  present  officers 
are:  N.  G.,  Henry  G.  Provin;  V.  G.,  Fred  H.  Shepard;  Rec. 
Sec'y-7  James  C.  Taylor;  Treas.,  John  L.  Smith;  Fin.  Sec'y., 
John  Boyle. 

Eastern  Star  Eehekalt  Lodge,  No.  63,  of  AVestfield,  was  in- 
stituted Feb.  28,  1888,  by  Robert  Tabor,  grand  master,  assisted 
by  the  officers  of  IMorning  Star  lodge  of  Springfield. 

The  first  officers  of  the  lodge  were :  N.  G.,  Jane  E.  Kings- 
bury; V.  G.,  Mable  Nichols;  R.  S.,  Adaline  Whitaker;  F.  S., 
Mary  J.  Bamblett;  T.,  Margaret  Burgherdt. 

This  lodge  has  a  handsome  paraphernalia  and  is  especially 
prominent  in  the  excellent  manner  in  which  the  degrees  are  con- 
ferred. 

The  present  officers  are :  N.  G.,  Hattie  Wheaton ;  V.  G., 
Emma  Sheldon;  R.  S.,  May  Whipple;  T.,  Susan  Osborne;  F.  S., 
R.  M.  Smith. 

Tekoa  Lodge,  No.  138,  of  West  Springfield,  was  instituted 
May  1,  1885,  by  Grand  Master  Henry  K.  Braley,  with  eleven 
charter  members.  The  first  officers  were  N.  G.,  E.  C.  Mann ; 
V.  G.,  Daniel  Flower;  Sec,  E.  W.  Tirrell :  Treas.,  Peter  Denno. 

The  lodge  is  well  known  for  the  able  manner  in  which  it 
confers  the  degrees ;  present  membership,  175. 

The  present  officers  are :  N.  G.,  Herbert  H.  Whitting ;  V.  G., 
Henry  Lamont :  R.  S.,  Geo.  Miranville;  F.  S.,  Merrill  E. 
Streeter;  T.,  Oscar  T.  Rolofe. 

(      495      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

Palmer  Lodge,  No.  190,  of  Palmer,  Avas  instituted  August  7, 
1879,  by  Albert  Fessenden,  grand  master,  and  Charles  D.  Cole, 
grand  secretary.  The  charter  members  were  18.  The  present 
membership  is  156.  The  lodge  erected  a  temple  and  occupied 
it  in  July,  1895. 

Present  officers  are :  Charles  D.  Holden,  noble  grand ; 
Charles  R.  Russell,  vice-grand ;  George  H.  Bray,  secretary ;  J. 
Wesley  Williams,  treasurer. 

Good  Cheer  RehekalL  Lodge,  No.  60,  of  Palmer,  was  insti- 
tuted Nov.  22,  1887,  by  Robert  Tabor,  grand  master,  assisted  by 
Alfred  S.  Pinkerton,  deputy  grand  master,  and  afterwards 
grand  sire,  also  J.  M.  Price,  Chas,  D.  Cole  and  Julius  Clark. 

The  first  officers  were  Sarah  A.  Parkhurst,  noble  grand; 
Ellen  M.  Holden,  vice-grand;  Mary  E.  Robinson,  rec.  secretary; 
Alice  M.  Smith,  treasurer. 

The  lodge  has  been  very  successful  and  has  earned  for  itself 
a  reputation  in  the  excellence  of  its  Avork.  Thirty-one  persons 
were  present  and  took  the  obligation  at  its  institution.  The  pres- 
ent membership  is  146. 

The  present  officers  are  Mary  E.  Murdock,  noble  grand; 
Alice  M.  Shaw,  vice-grand ;  Carrie  B.  Reed,  rec.  secretary ;  Ellen 
M.  Holden,  treasurer. 

Samoset  Lodge,  No.  160,  of  Chester,  was  instituted  Septem- 
ber 17,  1872,  with  sixteen  charter  members:  Joseph  T.  Gibson, 
Newton  D.  Prentiss,  Major  A.  Snow,  John  Truscott,  Lewis  C.  In- 
galls,  Joseph  C.  Seagers,  George  HoUister,  Leroy  A,  Wilcox,  Paul 
R.  Towne,  Horace  M.  Wilcox,  George  F.  Higgins,  Thomas 
Simons,  Albert  E.  Mixer,  George  H.  Hapgood,  Fred  S.  Otis  and 
Thomas  Hambley.  The  first  officers  Avere  Joseph  E.  Gibson,  N. 
G. ;  Thomas  Simons,  V.  G. ;  Horace  M.  Wilcox,  Secy. ;  Paul  R. 
Towne,  Treas, 

The  lodge  now  numbers  sixty-five  members,  and  is  in  all  re- 
spects a  representative,  progressive  body.  The  officers  for  1902 
are  as  follows  :  Wilbur  L.  Hunt,  N.  G. ;  Edward  L.  Cowles,  V.  G. ; 
George  H.  Hapgood,  Secy. ;  Leroy  A.  Wilcox,  Treas. 

MoTison  Lodge,  No.  210,  of  Monson,  was  instituted  by  Henry 
Denver,  grand  master ;  James  M,  Price,  grand  warden  ;  Frank  E. 

(      496      ) 


ODD  FELLOWSHIP 

Ladd,  grand  marshal ;  William  Parkham,  grand  chaplain ;  J. 
Lawrence  Martin,  grand  secretary.  The  first  officers  Avere 
SimonTaylor,  N.  G. ;  Dana  INI.  Dnstin,  V.  G. ;  John  Crass,  Sec. ; 
Frank  A.  Bills,  P.  S. ;  Irving  L.  Tefts,  Treas. 

The  present  membership  of  the  lodge  is  77.  The  present 
officers  are  M.  C.  Howe,  N.  G. ;  G.  L.  Warriner,  V.  G. ;  D.  B. 
Needham,  Sec. ;  F.  A.  Bills,  P.  S. ;  H.  M.  Smith,  Treas. 

St.  J  oh  n  's  Lodge,  No.  62,  of  Chicopee,  was  instituted  INIarch 
10,  1845,  later  surrendered  its  charter  and  was  reinstituted 
March  8,  1870.  From  that  time  to  the  present  the  lodge  has 
been  prosperous,  having  a  present  membership  of  142. 

On  October  1,  1889,  about  20  members  withdrew  from  the 
lodge  and  started  a  new  lodge  in  Chicopee  Falls.  The  lodge 
gained  wide  fame  in  the  splendid  manner  in  which  it  has  con- 
ferred the  initiatory  degree.  Harmony  and  sociability  are  the 
marked  characteristics  of  St.  John's.  The  present  officers  are 
George  H.  Burnett,  N.  G. ;  Carl  K.  McCoy,  V.  G. ;  William  R. 
Crompton,  Sec. ;  John  T.  Lyon,  P.  S. ;  Alexander  Grant,  Treas. 

Chicopee  Lodge,  No.  115,  located  at  Chicopee  Falls,  was  in- 
stituted by  Henry  Denver,  grand  master,  assisted  by  the  board  of 
grand  officers.  The  first  officers  were :  N.  G.,  James  H.  Loomis ; 
V.  G.,  George  D.  Bartlett ;  R.  S.,  Henry  W.  Chapin ;  P.  S.,  Henry 
H.  Leonard ;  Treas.,  Russell  Markham.  The  present  member- 
ship is  95. 

This  lodge  is  well  known  for  its  hospitality  and  is  often  vis- 
ited because  of  its  known  fraternal  greetings  and  good  cheer. 
Its  present  officers  are :  N.  G.,  William  Henry  West ;  V.  G., 
Fred  Snape ;  Sec'y-,  Albert  H.  Hatfield;  Treas.,  Walter  J. 
Burby;  F.  Sec'y-,  Frank  E.  Bigelow. 

Holyoke  Lodge,  No.  134,  was  instituted  September  27,  1849, 
by  Grand  Master-  Samuel  AVells  of  Northampton  and  Alfred 
]\[udge  of  Boston  as  grand  secretary.  A  large  delegation  of 
members  was  present  from  Springfield  and  Northampton.  The 
petitioners  were  Addison  S.  Peck,  Daniel  E.  Emerson,  William 
]\Ielches,  Samuel  H.  Batchelder,  Daniel  Bowdoin,  Benjamin  Tay- 
lor, Waldo  Shattuck  and  Abraham  Cassey.  William  Melcher 
was  elected  noble  grand,  and  Addison  S.  Peck,  vice-grand.      On 


33-1 


(       4i'7       ) 


o 


OUR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

Nov.  20,  1854,  the  lodge  surrendered  its  charter.  On  May  5, 
1855,  a  petition  was  sent  to  the  grand  lodge  for  a  return  of  the 
charter,  and  the  same  was  returned  Nov.  29,  1855.  Owing  to 
circumstances  beyond  control,  the  charter  was  again  surrendered 
Jan.  10,  1857. 

On  March  5,  1875,  the  lodge  was  reinstituted  by  S.  B.  Krog- 
man,  grand  master,  with  J.  C.  Porter  as  grand  secretary.  The 
officers  elected  were  N.  G.,  E.  B.  Tibbetts ;  V.  G.,  W.  E.  Symes ; 
R.  S.,  E.  W.  Burns;  Treas.,  Sam'l  Snell;  F.  S.,  J.  M.  Sickman. 

Bro.  Samuel  Snell  was  one  of  the  first  members  of  the  lodge 
and  faithfully  served  as  treasurer  for  over  25  years.  The  lodge 
appreciated  his  services  and  presented  him  with  a  veteran's 
jewel.  The  present  officers  are  :  N.  G.,  A.  H.  Rice  ;  V.  G.,  G.  H. 
Foster ;  R.  S.,  C.  S.  Roberts ;  Treas.,  Geo.  R.  Smith ;  F.  S.,  G.  H. 
Burnham. 

Glemvod  BeheJiah  Lodge,  No.  104,  of  Holyoke,  was  insti- 
tuted Nov.  4,  1899,  by  J.  B.  Crawford,  grand  master,  assisted  by 
Louis  A.  Cook,  L.  Lawrence  Martin,  Charles  A.  Boynton,  Austin 
S.  Estey,  Joseph  York,  A.  E.  Steele  and  John  W.  Prouty.  The 
first  officers  were  N.  G.,  Myrtie  M.  Frissell;  V.  G.,  Martha  E. 
Dickenson;  Sec,  Addie  M.  Porter;  F.  S.,  Margaret  W.  Sargent; 
Treas.,  Lillie  M.  Perry. 

The  lodge  has  been  very  successful  and  earned  for  itself  a 
good  reputation  for  the  excellence  of  its  degree  work.  Its  pres- 
ent membership  is  165.  The  present  officers  are  N.  G.,  Hattie 
E.  Caswell ;  V.  G.,  Edith  Foster :  Sec,  Florence  Brainerd ;  Treas., 
Lucy  F.  Mooney ;  F.  S.,  Lilla  Cutler. 

Tuscarora  Encampment,  No.  30,  of  Holyoke,  was  instituted 
Feb.  16,  1883,  by  Charles  N.  Alexander,  grand  patriarch,  assisted 
by  Grand  Scribe  Charles  D.  Cole  and  Grand  High  Priest  John  U. 
Perkins.  The  first  officers  were  C.  P.,  J.  W.  Prouty :  S.  W.,  A. 
S.  Alden ;  H.  P.,  J.  AA' .  Meacham ;  J.  W.,  J.  B.  Whitehouse ;  Secy., 
S.  A.  Bugbee ;  Treas.,  M.  J.  Kelly. 

The  present  membership  is  73.  The  encampment  is  in  good 
financial  condition  and  has  earned  a  good  reputation  in  confer- 
ring the  various  degrees.  The  present  officers  are  C.  P.,  Clar- 
ence A.  Bridges ;  H.  P.,  George  A\^.  Rogers ;  S.  A\^.,  J.  M.  Toefifert; 

(      498      ) 


AGBICULTUEE 

J.  W.,  Chas.  W.  Diistiii;  Secy.,  Geo.  B.  Sargent;  Treas.,  Chas.  S. 
Roberts. 

Canton  Holyoke,  No.  65,  Patriarchs  Militant.— The  first 
meeting  in  the  interest  of  forming  a  canton  of  patriarchs  mili- 
tant in  Holyoke  was  held  Oct.  11,  1895.  After  a  few  prelimi- 
nary arrangements  the  meeting  adjourned  to  Oct.  23,  1895,  for 
mustering. 

The  mustering  officer  was  general  Frank  M.  Merrill,  and  the 
canton  was  named  Canton  Holyoke,  No.  65.  F.  L.  Brown  was 
elected  the  first  commandant.  The  canton  was  mustered  in 
with  twenty-five  members,  and  though  a  number  have  been 
added,  death  and  change  of  residence  has  reduced  their  number 
to  twenty-two.  The  first  cantonment  was  held  Nov.  27,  1895. 
Cantonments  have  been  regularly  held  on  the  second  Monday 
evening  of  each  month.  The  canton  has  been  honored  in  hav- 
ing one  of  its  members  elected  to  the  office  of  major,  in  the  person 
of  J.  R.  Mooney.  Captain  J.  L.  McKemmie  is  the  present  com- 
mandant, and  Chevalier  C.  A.  Bridges,  clerk. 


CHAPTER  XXni 
AGRICULTURE  OF  HAMPDEN  COUNTY' 

The  history  of  any  county  cannot  be  complete  without  an 
account  of  its  agriculture. 

The  distinguished  ethnologist,  Charles  Pickering  (Harvard, 
1823),  has  maintained  that  "The  History  of  the  progress  of  man- 
kind can  be  distinctly  traced  to  the  extension  of  the  areas  of  cul- 
tivated plants." 

The  early  settlers  of  this  section  brought  with  them  from 
England  the  customs  of  that  country,  many  of  which  it  was 
found — sometimes  by  sad  experience — could  not  be  applied  to 
the  new  conditions.  They  soon  learned  from  the  aborigines  the 
importance  of  the  Indian  corn  crop,    and   copying   their  crude 

iRy  Ethan  Brooks,  of  West  Springfield. 

(      499      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

methods  of  cultivation,  were  generally  suecessfnl  with  this  as  a 
staple  product  for  the  support  of  both  man  and  beast. 

There  being  no  market  in  which  either  to  buy  or  to  sell,  these 
settlers  were  forced  to  procure  from  the  soil  as  far  as  possible 
the  necessaries  of  life.  All  mechanics  and  all  professional  men 
Avere  in  a  large  degree  farmers. 

Exchange  of  produce  was  common.  Meats,  grains  and  fruits 
were  passed  from  one  family  to  another,  the  like  to  be  returned 
at  mutual  convenience,  and  the  village  mechanic,  if  kept  busy  at 
his  trade,  Avas  paid  for  his  services  in  general  farm  produce,  and 
the  clergyman,  the  schoolmaster  and  the  doctor  saw  little  ready 
cash. 

No  farm  was  without  its  tlock  of  sheep,  and  few  if  any  were 
without  their  fields  of  flax ;  and  the  thrifty  housewife  and  her 
equally  thrifty  daughters  could  card  and  spin  and  dye  and  knit 
and  weave  and  cut  and  sew  the  wool  and  the  flax  into  articles  of 
comfort  and  of  beauty.  Fruits  were  dried  for  winter  use.  The 
long  autumn  evenings  as  a  rule  Avere  spent  in  some  occupation 
conducive  to  the  welfare  of  the  family. 

Beeves  Avere  slaughtered  late  in  autumn,  and  after  dividing 
Avith  neighbors,  a  goodly  portion  Avas  ''put  doAA^n"  (salted)  for 
future  use,  Avhile  the  talloAV  Avas  made  into  candles  Avhich  came 
to  supersede  the  pine  knot  for  illuminating  purposes.  Hides 
and  skins  Avere  taken  to  the  village  to  be  tanned  for  one-half  of 
the  leather — the  farmer's  half  in  turn  being  taken  to  the  shoe- 
maker and  harness-maker  to  be  Avorked  up  for  the  needs  of  the 
family  and  the  farm.  Sometimes  the  shoemaker  brought  his 
bench  to  the  farmer's  home  and  made  up  the  annual  supply  of 
shoes,  and  generally  the  tailoress  and  the  dressmaker  came  to  the 
home  to  do  their  Avork. 

Gradually  passable  roads  Avere  Avorked  and  occasionally 
streams  Avere  bridged,  making  possible  the  introduction  of  the 
stage  coach  and  leading  to  the  cultivation  of  such  crops  as  could 
find  an  outlet  to  the  country  tavern— established  in  every  toAA^n— 
or  to  the  rivc'  for  transportation  to  the  seaport. 

The  earliest  cash  products  of  the  farm  Avere  hemp,  flax  and 
Avool. 

(      500      ) 


AGRICULTURE 

Large  apple  orchards  were  planted,  affording  an  abundance 
of  fruit,  though  the  choice  varieties  known  now  had  not  in  those 
early  days  been  developed— the  crop  being  used  largely  for  mak- 
ing cider,  of  which  quantities  were  consumed  in  every  family, 
while  the  surplus  was  converted  by  the  nearby  distillery  into 
another  article  of  commerce— after  supplying  the  home  demand 
— cider  brandy.  Soon  a  demand  came  for  choice  beef  cattle  to  be 
driven  to  New  York  or  Boston,  and  so  the  farmer  raised  steers 
with  which  in  their  growing  years  to  do  his  farm  work,  and 
which  when  matured  were  stall  fed  and  sold  to  the  drover.  West- 
field  especially  was  noted  for  its  large  corn  cribs  and  corn  fed 
cattle. 

Potatoes,  which  on  the  new  lands  yielded  enormous  crops, 
were  not  generally  used  as  an  article  of  table  supply,  but  were 
largely  grown  for  feeding  stock,  and  it  was  a  common  practice 
to  construct  a  cellar  under  the  barn  floor  where  loads  of  this 
product  could  be  stored  for  winter  feeding. 

A  factory  for  the  manufacture  of  potato  starch  was  at  one 
time  in  operation  in  North  Blandford— the  price  paid  for  pota- 
toes at  the  starch  works  being  about  ten  or  twelve  cents  a  bushel. 

With  the  advent  of  improved  roads  came  also  the  establish- 
ment of  local  manufactories,  making  a  market  for  such  agricul- 
tural products  as  could  be  used  in  these  establishments,  as  well 
as  for  general  farm  produce  in  the  homes  of  those  employed  in 
these  shops  and  mills.  Wooden  ware  was  literally  "turned" 
out  in  large  quantities,  and  iron  ore  was  picked  up  in  some  of  the 
open  fields  of  Hampden  county,  notably  in  the  Brush  hill  district 
of  West  Springfield,  and  taken  to  a  smelting  furnace  at  Chicopee 
Falls,  then  known  by  the  Indian  name  of  Skipmuck,  to  be  made 
into  wares  of  domestic  and  local  need. 

The  United  States  armory  at  Springfield— developed  from 
the  germ  planted  during  the  revolution— came  into  substantial 
existence  in  1794.  Thus  a  market  was  opened  for  general  farm 
produce,  not  only  for  direct  family  supply,  but  for  corn  to  fatten 
the  armorers'  pork,  for  there  was  often  a  sharp  rivalry  among 
the  veterans  of  the  forge  and  the  lathe  as  to  who  should  slaughter 
the  largest  pig. 

(      501      ) 


OVB  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

The  thrifty  farmer  of  those  days,  schooled  to  the  thought 
that  nothing  should  be  permitted  to  go  to  waste,  burned  into 
charcoal  the  wood  which  must  needs  be  cleared  away  to  admit  of 
growing  crops,  and  as  there  was  then  no  communication  with  the 
great  coal  fields,  this  product  was  consumed  in  every  village 
blacksmith  shop  and  in  large  quantities  at  the  United  States  arm- 
ory, while  the  cry  of  Charcoal !  charcoal !  through  the  streets  of 
the  larger  towns  brought  out  the  prudent  housewife  who  secured 
direct  from  the  producer  her  baskets  of  condensed  fuel. 

There  was  little  call  for  young  men  to  leave  the  farm  in 
those  early  days,  and  many  a  family  of  stalwart  sons  tarried  on 
the  old  homestead,  clearing  up  wood  lands,  digging  ditches  for 
the  drainage  of  low  lands  and  laying  stone  walls,  thus  making 
ready  for  another  step  in  the  evolution  of  agriculture— that  of 
dairying. 

Farms— since  subdivided— Avere  large  in  those  days,  and 
many  acres  were  given  to  the  production  of  rye,  for  which  crop 
lands  that  had  been  in  pasture  for  two  or  three  years— or  since 
the  last  crop  of  rye  was  taken  otf — were  "summer  fallowed,"  that 
is,  plowed  in  the  early  summer  and  left  till  early  autumn,  then 
plowed  again  and  the  grain  sow^ed  broad  cast,  as  in  ancient  times, 
and  harrowed  in. 

This  grain,  when  bolted  at  the  nearby  grist  mill,  afforded  ma- 
terial for  a  large  proportion  of  the  bread  of  the  farmer's  family. 
One  man  in  a  town  adjoining  Springfield  made  a  business  of  buy- 
ing wheat  and  rye  of  the  farmers,  having  it  ground  and  selling 
the  flour  from  house  to  house  in  Springfield. 

Sometimes,  as  in  later  years,  the  most  ready  cash  market  for 
rye  was  the  local  distillery,  while  it  is  always  a  valuable  stock 
food,  especially  on  the  dairy  farm.  Buckwheat  Avas  groAvn  as 
an  easily  produced  grain  crop  and  as  helpful  in  subduing  new 
lands ;  this  grain  ground  with  corn  and  rye  made  a  valuable 
provender  for  fattening  the  farmer's  pork.  Oats  for  feeding 
were  also  a  common  crop. 

Butter  making — in  the  hardest  way,  because  none  of  the 
modern  methods  and  scientific  appliances  were  known— was 
common  here,  as  throughout  all  New  England,  and  gave  a  cash 

(      502      ) 


AGEICVLTVRE 

product,  or  at  least  oue  that  could  be  exchanged  with  the  grocer 
for  the  necessaries,  and  with  cheese-making  was  long  an  impor- 
tant industry,  especially  in  the  hill  towns. 

As  the  larger  manufacturing  establishments  came  in, 
notably  those  of  Chicopee  Falls  and  Chicopee,  in  the  early  part 
of  the  last  century  and  before  railroads  connected  these  markets 
Avith  the  outside  world,  large  supplies  of  beef,  pork,  veal,  mut- 
ton and  lambs,  poultry  and  eggs,  potatoes  and  fruits  were 
brought  in  from  the  surrounding  country,  Avhile  a  few  nearby 
farmers  seized  the  opportunity  to  furnish  milk  and  garden  vege- 
tables to  our  growing  towns. 

It  has  been  stated  on  good  authority  that  the  first  milk  of- 
fered for  sale  in  Springfield  was  carried  in  a  stone  jug  by  an 
Agawam  farmer,  who  drove  in  front  of  the  house  of  his  cus- 
tomer and  "thumped"  on  the  side  of  his  plain  farm  wagon  with 
the  butt  of  his  whip  to  call  out  the  woman  of  the  house. 

Westfield  has  long  been  known  as  the  whip  manufacturing 
center  of  the  world,  and  Holyoke  came  into  being  about  the  mid- 
dle of  the  last  century.  West  Springfield,  Monson,  Palmer, 
Ludlow  and  the  smaller  towns  have  all  contributed  to  make  local 
demands  for  the  products  of  the  farm. 

AYith  the  building  of  railroads  there  began  to  come  a  change. 
The  north  and  west  began  to  send  produce  to  our  growing  mar- 
kets, which  in  turn  demanded  more  milk  and  more  fresh  supplies 
of  poultry,  eggs,  fruits  and  vegetables;  and  while  hitherto  the 
farmer  had  felt  obliged  to  grow  all  the  grain  needed  to  be  fed 
on  the  farm,  he  now  found  that  sometimes  he  could  buy  grain  if 
an  increased  supply  were  needed  and  feeding  it  to  his  own  stock 
bring  the  fertility  of  the  west  to  his  own  farm ;  or,  as  one  shrewd 
farmer  once  said,  "If  I  wanted  to  buy  manure  I  would  buy 
corn."  Tobacco  for  the  last  forty  years  has  been  a  money 
crop,  especially  in  the  river  towns,  and  though  giving  place  in 
some  degree  to  market  gardening  and  fruit,  still  holds  a  promi- 
nent place.  Onions  with  some  are  a  specialty.  Celery  was 
hardly  known  as  a  market  crop  forty  years  ago ;  at  one  time  it 
was  claimed  that  celery  could  not  be  grown  to  the  advantage  of 
the  producer  in  this  locality.      Now  with  our  market  gardeners 

(      503      ) 


OVR  COUNTY  AND  ITS  PEOPLE 

it  is  a  leading  crop,  the  consumption  having  increased  a  hundred 
fold  within  the  last  ten  or  fifteen  years. 

Farm  Impleynents  and  Machinery.  —  It  has  been  well  said 
that  before  the  introduction  of  improved  implements  and 
machinery,  "So  much  bread  meant  so  much  sweat."  The  im- 
provements which  have  been  made  in  this  direction  are  perhaps 
as  great  as  in  any  other  industry.  The  plow  in  crude  form  has 
been  an  implement  of  husbandry  from  ancient  days.  Our  New 
England  fathers  used  the  wooden  plow  with  wrought  iron  point 
while  strap  iron  covered  the  other  exposed  parts,  and  this  with 
the  heavy  drag  harrow  and  the  hand  hoe  were  the  principal  tools 
in  cultivating  the  soil,  while  planting  and  sowing  all  kinds  of 
seeds  was  done  entirely  by  hand ;  a  small  harrow  for  first  hoeing 
and  later  a  one-horse  plow  were  run  between  the  rows  of  corn 
and  potatoes,  always  followed  by  hand  hoeing. 

The  sickle  of  ancient  days  seems  to  have  held  its  place  as  the 
only  implement  for  harvesting  grain  till  early  in  the  last  century, 
when  the  grain  cradle  came  into  use.  Mechanics  and  others  not 
generally  employed  on  the  farm  were  accustomed  to  help  in  har- 
vesting the  grain  crop,  an  acre  being  considered  a  fair  day's 
work  for  an  able  man  to  reap  and  bind.  (There  were  no  re- 
stricted hours  in  those  days.) 

Mowing  was  all  done  by  hand,  and  small  boys  dropped  their 
schooling  that  they  might  spread  the  swaths  after  the  mowers, 
and  turn  and  rake  the  hay.  The  horse  rake  seems  to  have  been 
the  first  labor-saving  implement  introduced  into  the  hay  field; 
then  came  the  mowing  machine,  which  in  some  instances  could 
be  converted  into  the  reaper  for  cutting  grain ;  then  the  tedder, 
doing  in  the  field  with  one  or  two  horses  guided  by  one  man  the 
work  of  twelve  men  turning  hay  by  hand :  along  with  these  came 
the  horse-fork  for  unloading— a  Avonderful  relief  to  the  over- 
worked muscles  of  man. 

One  would  need  to  go  through  the  catalogue  of  one  of  our 
establishments  for  the  manufacture  of  agricultural  implements 
to  be  able  to  give  a  correct  account  of  the  advantages  we  now 
have  or  may  have  over  the  methods  of  our  fathers. 

Dairying  is  no  longer  a  burden  to  the  farmer's  home,  for  the 
milk  is  either  taken  directly  to  market  in  cans  furnished  clean 

(      504      ) 


AGRKWLTIIRE 

by  the  dealer,  or  the  cream  gatherer  takes  the  cream  raised  by 
modern  appliances  from  the  milk  of  hundreds  of  cows,  and 
through  summer's  heat  and  winter's  cold  converts  the  same  into 
uniform  high  grade  butter. 

When  the  total  abstinence  wave  swept  over  the  country  in 
about  1840  many  farmers  destroyed  their  apple  orchards  as  cum- 
berers  of  the  ground,  not  realizing  that  the  growing  markets 
would  soon  demand  the  choicest  varieties  of  fruit  which  the  more 
thrifty  trees  could  easily  have  been  made  to  produce  by  grafting. 

Fruit  growing  as  a  specialty  is  receiving  more  and  more  at- 
tention, as  the  higher  grounds  are  found  to  be  peculiarly  adapted 
to  this  branch  of  industry.  In  the  autumn  of  1900  a  young  and 
enterprising  farmer  in  Chester  gathered  and  sold  over  $1100 
worth  of  apples  from  his  farm. 

For  generations  the  farmer  knew  no  way  to  maintain — much 
less  to  increase — the  fertility  of  his  grounds  except  by  plowing 
in  green  crops  and  by  the  application  of  wood  ashes  and  the 
barnyard  manure  of  the  farm.  Within  comparatively  few  years 
science  has  come  to  his  aid  showing  the  needs  of  growing  crops 
and  pointing  out  the  sources  of  supply,  directing  also  as  to 
methods  of  destroying  insect  pests  and  overcoming  fungus  and 
atmospheric  blight. 

Our  agricultural  colleges  and  experiment  stations,  our 
boards  of  agriculture,  the  grange,  the  local  agricultural  and  hor- 
ticultural societies  and  farmers'  clubs,  all  tend  to  awaken  a 
desire  for  the  possibilities  within  the  farmer's  reach. 

The  great  variety  of  early  and  late  fruits  and  vegetables, 
with  the  many  modern  conveniences  at  the  command  of  the 
farmer  household,  do  away  largely  with  the  monotony  of  the 
early  days.  Still  the  edict  stands,  though  in  modified  force, 
"In  the  sweat  of  thy  face  shall  thou  eat  bread  until  thou  return 
unto  the  ground." 


(  End  of  Vol.  I  ) 


k  9  9 


L' 


